All posts by singlemalt

Native Angeleno and Industrial real estate agent since 1994.
Food Industry

California Food Processing Industry

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Introduction California is the top agricultural state in the nation, a position it has held for 50 years. As a natural result, California is also the largest food processing employer in the United States. With an enormous variety of crops, great growing conditions and increasing demand for prepared food products, California is the center for food processing, shipping $50 billion worth of food products.

Definition Food processing is an umbrella term used to describe all the activities of manufacturing food and beverages for human consumption, as well as prepared feeds for animals. California processing includes fruits and vegetables, baked goods, meats, dairy products, sugar and confections, beverages, and fats and oils. The industry is defined as food and kindred products by Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code 20.

Size and Location Food processing firms in California are as widely spread across the state as the farmlands that supply them. Food manufacturers purchase most of their perishable raw materials from area growers, ensuring the ultimate in freshness. California is the top producing state for many fruit and vegetable crops, providing the basis for myriad fresh, canned and frozen products. Correspondingly, preserved fruits and vegetables is the largest industry group in California food processing, providing a quarter of the state’s food processing jobs. Beverage manufacturing provides 19 percent of the food processing employment in California, led by the high value-added wine production. Bakery products in California provide 13 percent of the state’s employment in the manufacture of those products. California also has above-average representation in canned and cured seafood processing located in the coastal counties, and pasta production in Los Angeles, Orange and Alameda counties. 

Economic Importance California produces a wide variety of food products and is the leading state in many food categories. California surpasses Wisconsin in milk production. California is the only producing state of such specialty foods as almonds, artichokes, raisins, prunes, olives, dates, figs and pistachios. California food processing employed 183,300 people in 1999, composing 11 percent of the nation’s total. 

Market Trends & Indicators

Central Los Angeles Industrial Market Boundaries

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The Central Los Angeles industrial real estate market encompasses approximately 300 million square feet of building area.  This market includes the well-known submarkets: City of Vernon, City of Commerce, and Downtown Los Angeles.  It should be noted that the following areas on the periphery to Downtown are also included in the Central LA market: Lincoln Heights, Glassell Park, City Terrace, East L.A., Boyle Heights, South Industrial, and the Goodyear Tract.  In the Central LA submarket buyer and tenant demand remains strong compared to outlying markets.  In fact, the Central submarket remains the tightest metropolitan industrial market in the nation.  This submarket is an infill market and very little new construction occurs on empty industrial land (with almost no construction on other types of commercial real estate such as retail and office).  The Central LA market is also the largest industrial real estate submarket in Los Angeles County.

Market Trends & Indicators

Warehousing Proximity to Ports of Los Angeles & Long Beach

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There is an unrelenting desire by warehouse users to occupy properties within close proximity to Los Angeles’ ports – where 40 percent of all containerized cargo enters the United States.  Vacancy rates remain historically low in the Southern California Industrial Real Estate market, however, a flattening of cargo activity at the local Los Angeles and Long Beach ports may spell a warning for the area’s outlook in 2008.  The fact remains, though, that the two ports ranked first in the nation for container activity in 2006, placing 5th in the world. In the above aerial photo, industrial parcels are outlined in green.

Deal File, Food Industry

Food Building Roundup 2008-04-10

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untitled-1.jpgA 16,570 square foot building was leased to a company that prepares school lunches. The building was located at Alameda and 21st Street, and was formerly occupied by a seafood processing and packaging company which focused on shrimp products. Included in the long term lease was 2 cooler boxes, a 22 foot high freezer, and a large food processing room with washable walls and floor drains. The prior tenant relocated to a seafood building in the South Bay that was approximately 12,000 square feet in size. One broker coordinated the simultaneous transactions and the entire deal spaned several months.

An 18,000 square foot warehouse was leased to a Downtown Los Angeles produce company on Industrial Street. The building included an unusually high number of dock high loading positions for an older building: eleven. The produce company was attracted to the building for its proximity to the produce market ,the fact the building had 3 refrigerated coolers, and there was sufficient yard space to accomodate large 53 foot container trucks.

The following food buildings are available for occupancy lease and/or sale:

  • Marengo St- Cooler and freezer with dock high loading for a 10,000 SF facility. Forlease.
  • Main St- USDA food processing facility built in 1999 with 5000 SF freezer, 2500 SF cooler and 5000 SF processing room in 26,000 SF of improvements. Great for poultry, beef, seafood processors.
  • Anderson St- 11,000 SF building with freezers, coolers and truck high loading.
  • Industrial St- 23,000 SF building with 6000 SF freezer and 1200 SF cooler and 7 dock high spots.
  • 6th St- 23,000 SF concrete building with 3000 SF cooler and 1100 SF freezer, 16 truck high positions and 22 foot clear.
  • Alameda St- 15000 SF building with 8000 SF cooler and 4 dock high spots. Great location for produce distribution.
  • Alameda St- 16000 SF building with 4000 SF of coolers and freezers and processing room. 3 truck high spots.
  • Spring St- U.S.D.A. federal inspection facility for poultry and meat processing with coolers and freezers. 17000 SF building.
  • Triangle Dr- 23000 SF building, former commercial bakery with coolers, freezer and processing rooms.