Despite a rise in vacancy rates, a weak dollar could help the industrial market rebound faster than the more job-growth-dependent office, retail and multi-housing sectors.

Economic indicators such as global trade, freight shipments and even some retail sales, which generate demand for industrial space and saw upticks in late 2009, may also lead to a swifter recovery, Grubb & Ellis Co. said in its 2010 Real Estate Forecast this month.

And though landlords are expected to weather 75 million square feet of negative net absorption in 2010, that figure represents less than half of last year’s 158 million square feet. Warehouse rents are expected to decline 5 percent, a 1 percent improvement over 2009.

Vacancy rates in the industrial sector are expected to reach 11.4 percent by the end of 2010, 70 basis points higher than year-end 2009, and begin a gradual recovery in late 2010.

Rental rents aren’t expected to recover until the second half of 2011.

U.S. Industrial Market Strength Forecast

Top 10 Markets 2010-2014

United States Overall Score* Rank

Los Angeles 77.7

Houston 77.4

Atlanta 70.3

Oakland/East Bay, Calif. 64.9

Seattle 64.3

Dallas 63.5

Chicago 59.9

Miami 56.6

Portland, Ore. 56.4

Philadelphia 53.1

*Markets were ranked from 0 to 100 against 14 property, economic and demographic variables.

Source: Grubb & Ellis Co.