Market analysis
The City retained Cushman & Wakefield to conduct a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the industrial lands and sector in Calgary. The report findings are summarized below. You can also view the full Industrial Area Growth Strategy Consulting Report.
Land inventory
Industrial land supply
As of 2020, Calgary had approximately 7,000 hectares of industrial lands. Within this supply about 58% or 4,000 hectares are existing, developed and occupied, while the remaining 42% or 3,000 hectares are vacant and undeveloped. Parts of these vacant lands are serviced, while other parts are not.
Potentially underutilized lands are defined as parcels that are equal to or greater than 2 hectares, with less than 20 per cent site coverage.
A vast majority of the industrial lands are located east of Deerfoot Trail, and are concentrated in Northeast, Central and Southeast submarkets. The occupied industrial areas are made up of diverse land uses. Uses found here are predominantly industrial in nature at around 84% of the area (3,600 hectares), commercial uses make up 12% or 500 hectares, while the remaining 4% or 180 hectares are made up of other uses.
Vacant industrial lands sorted by category
Geography
Geography
| Geographic location | Hectors of vacant industrial land | % of vacant land |
|---|---|---|
| Geographic location: Southeast | Hectors of vacant industrial land: 1,489 ha | % of vacant land: 50% |
| Geographic location: Northeast | Hectors of vacant industrial land: 1,407 ha | % of vacant land: 47% |
| Geographic location: Other | Hectors of vacant industrial land: 78 ha | % of vacant land: 3% |
| Total as of 2020 | 2,974 ha | 100% |
Districts
Districts
| Land use districts | Hectors of vacant industrial land | % of vacant land |
|---|---|---|
| Land use districts: S-FUD – Future Urban Development* | Hectors of vacant industrial land: 1,748 ha | % of vacant land: 60% |
| Land use districts: Industrial | Hectors of vacant industrial land: 874 ha | % of vacant land: 29% |
| Land use districts: Industrial – Multiple | Hectors of vacant industrial land: 287 ha | % of vacant land: 10% |
| Land use districts: Direct Control District | Hectors of vacant industrial land: 27 ha | % of vacant land: 1% |
| Total as of 2020 | 2,936 ha | 100% |
*Lands that are identified as future industrial lands in the Municipal Development Plan (MDP) and specific Area Structure Plan (ASPs) have S-FUD land use designations
Servicing Status
Servicing Status
| Servicing status | Hectors of vacant industrial land | % of vacant land |
|---|---|---|
| Servicing status: Serviced | Hectors of vacant industrial land: 887 ha | % of vacant land: 30% |
| Servicing status: Partially Serviced | Hectors of vacant industrial land: 1,315 ha | % of vacant land: 44% |
| Servicing status: Unserviced | Hectors of vacant industrial land: 771 ha | % of vacant land: 26% |
| Total as of 2020 | 2,973 ha | 100% |
Parcel Size
Parcel Size
| Parcel size | Hectors of vacant industrial land | % of vacant land |
|---|---|---|
| Parcel size: <0.5 ha | Hectors of vacant industrial land: 12 ha | % of vacant land: 21% |
| Parcel size: 0.5 – 1 ha | Hectors of vacant industrial land: 52 ha | % of vacant land: 27% |
| Parcel size: 1-5 ha | Hectors of vacant industrial land: 239 ha | % of vacant land: 37% |
| Parcel size: 5-25 ha | Hectors of vacant industrial land: 739 ha | % of vacant land: 12% |
| Parcel size: >25 ha | Hectors of vacant industrial land: 1,932 ha | % of vacant land: 3% |
| Total as of 2020 | 2,974 ha | 100% |
Building inventory
Industrial building inventory
As of Q3, 2020, Calgary’s industrial building inventory was nearly 131 million sf. This makes Calgary the fourth largest industrial market in Canada – behind Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, just ahead of Edmonton, at 130 million sf.
| Submarket | Building inventory | % of inventory |
|---|---|---|
| Submarket : Southeast | Building inventory : 60.8 million sf | % of inventory: 47% |
| Submarket : Northeast | Building inventory : 47.7 million sf | % of inventory: 37% |
| Submarket : Central | Building inventory : 22.3 million sf | % of inventory: 17 |
| Total | 131 millon sf | 100% |
The Southeast submarket has the largest share of industrial building inventory, as well as industrial vacant land supply. This highlights the importance of the southeast in the industrial sector.
Key industries
Industrial sector’s future growth
Calgary is home to several industrial subsectors. The largest subsectors include warehousing and storage, general and specialized freight trucking, wholesale trade and manufacturing. The top 20 industrial subsectors that are anticipated to account for the largest gains in employment in Calgary by 2041 is listed below.
| 2016 | 2016 | 2041* | 2041* | 2041* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial Subsector | Jobs | Rank | Jobs | Additional Jobs | Rank |
| Industrial Subsector : Warehousing and Storage | Jobs: 3,830 | Rank: 1 | Jobs: 11,505 | Additional Jobs: 7,675 | Rank: 1 |
| Industrial Subsector : General freight trucking | Jobs: 2,810 | Rank: 3 | Jobs: 7,400 | Additional Jobs: 4,590 | Rank: 2 |
| Industrial Subsector : Food merchant wholesalers | Jobs: 2,615 | Rank: 4 | Jobs: 5,188 | Additional Jobs: 2,573 | Rank: 3 |
| Industrial Subsector : Specialized freight trucking | Jobs: 1,735 | Rank: 13 | Jobs: 3,051 | Additional Jobs: 1,316 | Rank: 4 |
| Industrial Subsector : Architectural and Structural metals manufacturing | Jobs: 1,765 | Rank: 11 | Jobs: 2,963 | Additional Jobs: 1,198 | Rank: 5 |
| Industrial Subsector : Other miscellaneous manufacturing | Jobs: 1,190 | Rank: 17 | Jobs: 2,370 | Additional Jobs: 1,180 | Rank: 6 |
| Industrial Subsector : Recyclable material merchants wholesalers | Jobs: 730 | Rank: 27 | Jobs: 1,846 | Additional Jobs: 1,116 | Rank: 7 |
| Industrial Subsector : Bakeries and tortilla manufacturing | Jobs: 1,490 | Rank: 14 | Jobs: 2,604 | Additional Jobs: 1,114 | Rank: 8 |
| Industrial Subsector : Beverage merchant wholesalers | Jobs: 470 | Rank: 37 | Jobs: 1,245 | Additional Jobs: 775 | Rank: 9 |
| Industrial Subsector : Petroleum and petroleum products merchant wholesalers | Jobs: 2,125 | Rank: 6 | Jobs: 2,759 | Additional Jobs: 634 | Rank: 10 |
| Industrial Subsector : Beverage manufacturing | Jobs: 1,085 | Rank: 20 | Jobs: 1,654 | Additional Jobs: 569 | Rank: 11 |
| Industrial Subsector : Glass and glass product manufacturing | Jobs: 460 | Rank: 39 | Jobs: 916 | Additional Jobs: 456 | Rank: 12 |
| Industrial Subsector : Farm product merchant wholesaler | Jobs: 245 | Rank: 67 | Jobs: 687 | Additional Jobs: 442 | Rank: 13 |
| Industrial Subsector : Household and institutional furniture and kitchen cabinet manufacturing | Jobs: 1,405 | Rank: 15 | Jobs: 1,807 | Additional Jobs: 402 | Rank: 14 |
| Industrial Subsector : Aerospace product and parts manufacturing | Jobs: 405 | Rank: 44 | Jobs: 704 | Additional Jobs: 299 | Rank: 15 |
| Industrial Subsector : Other food manufacturing | Jobs: 465 | Rank: 38 | Jobs: 726 | Additional Jobs: 261 | Rank: 16 |
| Industrial Subsector : Meat product manufacturing | Jobs: 1,170 | Rank: 18 | Jobs: 1,414 | Additional Jobs: 244 | Rank: 17 |
| Industrial Subsector : Basic chemical manufacturing | Jobs: 845 | Rank: 25 | Jobs: 1,081 | Additional Jobs: 236 | Rank: 18 |
| Industrial Subsector : Navigational, measuring, medical and control instruments manufacturing | Jobs: 1,125 | Rank: 19 | Jobs: 1,358 | Additional Jobs: 233 | Rank: 19 |
| Industrial Subsector : Industrial machinery manufacturing | Jobs: 190 | Rank: 70 | Jobs: 374 | Additional Jobs: 184 | Rank: 20 |
| Total New Jobs by 2041 | 25,497 |
*This forecast is based on Industrial Area Growth Strategy Consulting Report,Cushman & Wakefield