Why Column Spacing Matters for Industrial Real Estate
Column spacing directly impacts how your industrial property's tenants can store and move goods through the facility. Find out the most important considerations.
Start Your Application and Unlock the Power of Choice$5.6M offered by a Bank$1.2M offered by a Bank$2M offered by an Agency$1.4M offered by a Credit UnionClick Here to Get Quotes!Due to many industrial buildings’ large size, columns play an important part in supporting massive, often highly elevated roofs. Apart from structural importance, however, the placement of these columns can be incredibly important to industrial operations.
Typically columns are spaced consistently throughout a building with set dimensions. While there’s no universal standard, most newer structures have spacing of between 50 and 60 feet. Older buildings, owing to more dated design and construction materials, tend to have narrower spacing.
Column spacing impacts how the space inside a building is utilized. Industrial buildings — especially distribution centers — are extremely busy places. Packed with high shelving, with forklifts, people, and even robots moving products from one place to another, spacing is a critical component in maximizing how effectively a tenant can operate. If columns are too close together, for example, it’s possible a tenant using large pallets for storage may not have enough space to store goods in an accessible way.
Speed Bays
Column spacing is generally consistent throughout an asset, but near loading doors there is often additional space between the docks and the first set of columns. These areas — often called speed bays — typically measure a minimum of 60 feet into the building, though deeper spacing is becoming more and more common.
Due to the increased dimensions, it is often significantly easier to move pallets and products around, boosting the efficiency and speed of loading processes. However, products are rarely kept in a speed bay for long. If an item is taken off a truck and expected to be loaded onto another that day, speed bay storage may be viable.
Which Dimensions Are Best?
It depends. While most larger, e-commerce companies benefit from maximal column spacing due to the increased flexibility in configuring storage space, smaller tenants with less rapid throughput may find the costs outweigh the benefits.
Your spacing requirements are highly dependent on how many pallet positions you will have, how wide of aisles you need for loading equipment, along with a number of other factors. Toyota logistics subsidiary Bastian Solutions outlines how a number of different configurations can work, based on aisle requirements and the columns in your industrial space.
Related Questions
What is the importance of column spacing in industrial real estate?
Column spacing is an important factor to consider when investing in industrial real estate. It ties in directly to the efficiency of operations at most distribution and logistics buildings. Wider or deeper bay spacing near loading docks can provide an additional benefit by making loading operations safer and more efficient. Column spacing can also impact the configuration of warehouses’ all-important shelves and other storage racks by reducing the property’s usable square footage.
What are the benefits of having adequate column spacing in industrial buildings?
Having adequate column spacing in industrial buildings can provide several benefits. It can increase the efficiency of operations by allowing for the movement of forklifts and other loading equipment. It can also increase the usable square footage of the property, which can be beneficial for configuring warehouses and storage racks. Additionally, wider or deeper bay spacing near loading docks can make loading operations safer and more efficient.
What are the consequences of having inadequate column spacing in industrial buildings?
Having inadequate column spacing in industrial buildings can limit the movement of forklifts and other loading equipment, as well as reduce the property’s usable square footage. Additionally, it can make loading operations less safe and less efficient.
How does column spacing affect the value of industrial real estate?
Column spacing is an important factor when it comes to the value of industrial real estate. Column spacing ties in directly to the efficiency of operations at most distribution and logistics buildings. Wider or deeper bay spacing near loading docks — often referred to as speed bays — can provide an additional benefit by making loading operations safer and more efficient. This can also increase the usable square footage of the property, which can increase its value. Additionally, irregularly or small spaced columns can limit the movement of forklifts and other loading equipment, as well as impact the configuration of warehouses’ all-important shelves and other storage racks. Source
What are the common column spacing requirements for industrial buildings?
The common column spacing requirements for industrial buildings vary depending on the type of industrial building. Generally, column spacing for warehouses and distribution centers should be between 25 and 40 feet, while column spacing for manufacturing facilities should be between 20 and 30 feet. Additionally, speed bays near loading docks should have wider or deeper bay spacing to make loading operations safer and more efficient.
For more information, please see What to Know Before Making Your 1st Industrial Property Investment.
What are the best practices for column spacing in industrial real estate?
Column spacing is an important factor to consider when investing in industrial real estate. The best practice is to look for buildings with columns spaced at regular intervals, as this will maximize the usable square footage and make loading operations safer and more efficient. Additionally, having wider or deeper bay spacing near loading docks, often referred to as speed bays, can provide an additional benefit.
For more information, please see this article.