Despite questions in early 2025 about sustained artificial intelligence (AI) demand and warnings of potential market corrections, North America’s data center sector has emerged stronger than ever to finish out the year. The industry’s resilience in the face of regulatory headwinds, tariffs, AI bubble worries and utility grid constraints reveals a market that has matured beyond speculative growth into essential infrastructure.
“Despite early-year turbulence around DeepSeek, tariffs and hyperscaler deal concerns, the sector posted record numbers at midyear,” said Andrew Batson, head of U.S. data center research at JLL. “We’re seeing unprecedented demand dynamics that are fundamentally reshaping how we approach site selection, financing and development timelines.”
Vacancy in the sector is at a record low 2.3 percent with 8 gigawatts of colocation capacity under construction, 73 percent of which is preleased. Rent growth has averaged 12 percent compound ann
