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US warehouse construction rises in Q2 as leasing rebounds
About 305 million square feet of warehouse space were underway in Q2 2026, up 18% year over year, after a two-year slump tied to high vacancy.
US warehouse construction is picking up, with 305 million square feet underway in Q2 2026, according to Cushman & Wakefield. The data points to an 18% annual increase, marking the second consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth after a prolonged slowdown in industrial development.
The rebound follows a period of slumping demand and record-high vacancy, but leasing improved sharply in Q2. Cushman & Wakefield frames the uptick in developer confidence as linked to the strongest leasing activity since mid-2022, suggesting the industrial market may be reaching a turning point.
Developers are now launching projects more cautiously, aiming for demand from areas such as data centers, logistics, and reshoring manufacturing, rather than speculative supply. Industry commentary cited by The Wall Street Journal notes the market has found its footing after uncertainty about how far vacancies could climb.
The renewed building activity contrasts with the post-pandemic retrenchment that followed warehouse overbuilding. Cushman & Wakefield says the US industrial pipeline peaked at more than 725 million square feet in Q3 2022, and in 2024 and 2025 developers including Prologis and Panattoni cut back by completing and filling assets instead of starting new projects, as the vacancy rate reached its highest level since 2013.