U.S. industrial absorption hits 76.6M square feet in third quarter

Cushman & Wakefield research reported by IREI shows U.S. industrial net absorption reached 76.6 million square feet in the third quarter, the strongest quarterly total since the first quarter of 2023. Demand outpaced new supply for a second consecutive quarter, and it was the second consecutive quarter above 70 million square feet.

Year-to-date absorption passed 203 million square feet, the strongest nine-month stretch since late 2022. Inland markets accounted for roughly 80 percent of the year-to-date total, and demand in port markets including Houston, the Inland Empire, Miami, New Jersey and Savannah, Ga., has already exceeded full-year 2025 levels by 3 percent.

Warehouses completed since 2020 accounted for about 202 million square feet of the year-to-date absorption, leaving little of the total for older buildings. Jason Price, Cushman & Wakefield's head of Americas logistics and industrial research, said newer, highly functional facilities "continue to capture the majority of demand, although tightening availability is beginning to create some spillover into older product."

Price said that shift is "translating into lower vacancy, stronger leasing activity and renewed development momentum."

Lyft, Uber, Waymo and Zoox leased nearly 1 million square feet of robotaxi industrial space in 2026 through September, according to Cushman & Wakefield data obtained by Bisnow and reported by this publication last month. That tops the 830,000 square feet the four signed from 2022 through 2025 combined.