When it comes to players in the world of logistics and industrial real estate, Prologis, Inc. is unsurpassed. The company manages almost $58 billion in assets, the better part of a billion square feet in property, and operates in 21 countries around the globe. It should come as no surprise that Forbes called them the “world’s biggest industrial property company” in 2014; their bona fides speak for themselves. It’s rare to get access to discuss the state of any industry with one of its giants, but that is exactly what Knowledge Leader does in the article “State of the Industry” from the Winter 2016 edition; we sat down with Gene Reilly, CEO of the Americas for Prologis, the world’s largest owner, operator and developer of industrial real estate.

Download the Winter 2016 edition of Knowledge Leader magazine

Reilly has more than three decades of experience in real estate development, spanning both bull and bear markets, so he offers a unique perspective on the factors that have made the industrial sector the darling of today’s commercial real estate industry.

One of the key developments in the market is that demand is outstripping supply, causing rents to rise. Reilly says, “Prologis was out in front of this trend in 2010 and at that time people thought we were crazy because we were forecasting significant rental growth, and that’s what we’ve seen. We believe that will continue for at least the next couple of years.”

He also shares his insights on another big trend dominating the industry: e-commerce. E-commerce is growing at nearly 15 percent in the U.S. each year, making its future impact on industrial real estate even more dramatic. It is changing where and how industrial real estate is built.

Readily available data is also a factor. “You can get your hand on data very quickly to do serious economic forecasting for what’s going on in this business,” Reilly says.

To learn from Gene Reilly exactly how industrial real estate’s strength is bolstered by global consumption, and why he is bullish on the economy and real estate in particular, download the Winter 2016 edition of Knowledge Leader.