H1 2026 MARKET IN MOTION | INDUSTRIAL MARKET UPDATE
Written by: Stephanie Morris
Stephanie specializes in research capabilities, providing support for the Colliers Columbus Office, Industrial and Retail groups. She is responsible for executing data reports, maintaining a commercial property database, reporting quarterly trends, performing data analysis and utilizing statistical information to predict future behavior in the market. Keep reading for her take on market trends in the Columbus industrial sector for the first half of 2026.
Market in Motion | H1 2026 Industrial Report
In our newly released Market in Motion | H1 2026 report, we take a deeper look at:
Demand trends as first-half net absorption nearly matched the market’s 10-year annual average
The return of speculative construction following six consecutive quarters of declining vacancy and availability
Vacancy and availability by building size, with large-block modern bulk options becoming increasingly limited
Transaction activity as mid-sized occupiers drove a significant increase in leasing activity
Supply & Demand and Construction Activity
Net absorption reached 7.3 million square feet during the first half of 2026, nearly matching the market’s 10-year annual average with six months remaining in the year. As available inventory tightened, speculative development accelerated. Approximately 7.4 million square feet of speculative construction broke ground during the second quarter, marking the strongest pace since 2022.
Vacancy Analysis
Industrial vacancy has declined approximately 4.0 percentage points since reaching its cyclical peak in 2024 as recently delivered speculative inventory continues to lease. The improvement has been particularly pronounced among larger buildings, with vacancy in facilities between 400,000 and 600,000 square feet declining approximately 9 percentage points from its peak.
Modern bulk vacancy has followed a similar trajectory, falling to approximately 5.0% during the first half of 2026 and narrowing the gap with general industrial product. Occupancy among modern bulk buildings delivered since 2022 remained above 92%, further illustrating how much of the previous speculative wave has been absorbed.
Transaction Activity
Leasing activity remained broad-based during the first half of 2026. General industrial and modern bulk properties each accounted for approximately 3.3 million square feet of new leasing activity, while general industrial recorded a higher number of transactions. This balance reflects continued demand from smaller occupiers alongside larger distribution users.
The most notable shift occurred in the 200,000 to 400,000 square foot segment, which recorded 13 leases compared with four during the first half of 2025. Those transactions totaled approximately 3.8 million square feet, the highest first-half volume in the period analyzed.
The shift toward mid-sized transactions reinforces that current demand is not dependent solely on mega-bulk occupiers. Instead, leasing activity remains supported across multiple size ranges as the market transitions from absorbing the previous wave of speculative development to preparing for the next.
Check out the full H1 2026 Market in Motion Industrial Trends report here!
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