JLL takes the pulse of North America’s data center market in latest report

Data center demand is accelerating in both primary and secondary markets in North America, driven in large part by demand from generative AI requirements. However, power availability and delivery timelines continue to dampen absorption, according to JLL’s latest North America Data Center Report.

In the second half 2023, the primary North American data center markets saw 3.4 gigawatts of transactions signed, bringing the full-year total to a record of 4.3 gigawatts, according to the report. Secondary markets also added 124 megawatts of absorption in the second half 2023 and 554 megawatts for the year.

JLL reports nearly all markets are seeing an uptick in construction in response to accelerating demand. In fact, data center capacity under construction in primary and secondary markets exceeds 5.3 gigawatts — enough energy to power all the households in the San Francisco metro area for one year.

For primary markets, most of the net leasing in second ha