President Joe Biden’s executive order opening some federal lands could provide more locations to build data centers geared around artificial intelligence, among the nation’s most active commercial development categories.

The White House said Biden’s Tuesday order is intended to help speed data center construction amid nationwide efforts to bolster national security and strengthen tech-focused supply chains though domestic production and development. The order gives the federal Defense and Energy departments authority to lease some federal sites for data centers, provided they deploy clean-energy resources.

“AI is poised to have large effects across our economy, including in healthcare, transportation and beyond, and it is too important to be off-shored,” a White House statement said.

Officials noted the order would enable expansion of domestic infrastructure for advanced AI operations, including large-scale data centers and clean-power facilities to support them.

Developers and government agencies have sought clean-energy alternatives to operate data centers, which consume huge amounts of electricity. Under the executive order, companies leasing federal lands would be required to pay the full costs of building and operating facilities, to purchase an “appropriate share” of American-made semiconductors, and to pay workers prevailing wages.

The government agencies will select specific sites, then allow prospective developers to submit lease proposals. During the past year, several companies have announced big, planned nationwide investments in new data centers, including Amazon, Microsoft and Google.

Firms in multiple industries are looking to expand data operations to handle AI and other emerging technologies, but concerns are rising about energy sustainability. The International Energy Agency projected that global electricity consumption tied to data storage, AI and cryptocurrency processing will double from 2022 levels by 2026. 

Office traffic received a post-holiday bounce, with 10 tracked cities averaging 43% of pre-pandemic attendance for the week ended Jan. 8, according to Kastle Systems. That was much higher than the 30% average for the week ended Dec. 25, and the 19.1% average for the week ended Jan. 1.

Based on anonymous keycard data from the security technology firm’s office property clients, the latest data showed three Texas cities back in their customary top spots for attendance, though still below their usual numbers around 60%. Houston was at 57.3%, Dallas at 53.6% and Austin at 50.7%.

They were followed by Chicago at 47.5%, New York at 45.8%, and San Jose, California, at 43.4%. Washington, D.C., lagged all other tracked regions at 24.9%.

Average attendance has hovered around 50% for most of the past year, with hybrid and remote work arrangements now commonplace, peaking at 53.7% for the week ended Dec. 11. The overall trend has held as several companies moved to tighten in-office work requirements, most recently including JPMorgan Chase, Toyota and Amazon.

Retailers and other shippers were relieved when a strike at East and Gulf Coast ports was apparently averted with the announcement of a new labor contract set to take effect later this month, pending ratification by union dockworkers.

But imports have surged based on other factors, including expected tariffs being planned by the incoming Trump administration, according to the National Retail Federation and consulting firm Hackett Associates. Port cargo traffic trends have historically affected demand for logistics and other real estate near major ports.

“The new contract brings certainty and avoids disruptions, and we hope to see it ratified as soon as possible,” Jonathan Gold, the NRF’s vice president for supply chain and customs policy, said in a statement. “But the agreement came at the last minute, and retailers were already bringing in spring merchandise early to ensure that they would be well-stocked to serve their customers in case of another disruption, resulting in higher imports.”

The surge was also influenced by President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to increase tariffs “because retailers want to avoid higher costs that will eventually be paid by consumers,” Gold said. “The long-term impact on imports remains to be seen.”

Most U.S. ports have not reported December numbers, but the NRF and Hacket Associates projected a total of more than 2.2 million 20-foot-equivalent container units of cargo would be processed at ports nationwide for the month, up 19% from a year earlier. That would bring the 2024 total to 25.6 million for a 15.2% annual increase, as researchers projected a 10% year-over-year increase for the current month of January.