The U.S. industrial market continued to strengthen in second quarter 2026 as demand and supply were in balance, pushing the national vacancy rate below 7 percent while leasing activity reached its highest level since mid-2022, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s latest report.
Net absorption totaled 62.1 million square feet during the quarter, marking the second time in the past three quarters that quarterly demand exceeded 60 million square feet. Year-to-date, occupiers have absorbed 113.6 million square feet of industrial space, the strongest first-half performance since 2023. Over the past four quarters, net absorption reached 236 million square feet, more than 17 percent above the post-pandemic three-year average.
At the same time, industrial vacancy declined to 6.9 percent as new deliveries remained relatively modest. Developers completed 62 million square feet of new space during the second quarter, bringing first-half deliveries to 119 million square feet,
