Construction starts of industrial buildings nationwide recorded a 24% contraction during 2Q 2024 compared to the previous quarter. This is the second consecutive quarter with a downward trend in industrial construction, driven by caution from developers due to the election year and the need for greater certainty regarding the absorption of these spaces.
From April to June 2024, the construction of 13.5 million square feet (ft²) of net leasable area began in only 12 of the 24 most dynamic markets in the country, while from January to March, construction starts reached 17.7 million ft². In total, 31.2 million ft² have been constructed during the first six months of the year, according to information from Datoz Analytics.
These construction starts were driven by speculative spaces, which accounted for 69% of the total, with the remainder distributed between built-to-suit (BTS) for rent and sale.
The northern part of the country showed the highest dynamism in construction starts, with the northeast and northwest regions concentrating 62% of the total construction starts. Meanwhile, the Bajío-Western region accounted for 21% of the construction, and the Central region for 17%.
The northeast accumulated the highest number of construction starts, with nearly 5 million square feet, representing 37% of the total national construction. However, construction activity in this region was also lower, as 7.2 million square feet were built last quarter. Additionally, 90% of this activity took place in Monterrey, with the rest in Saltillo.
In a press conference with the media, Silvia Gómez, senior analyst from Datoz, mentioned that the highest construction activity occurred in Monterrey because it is the most active market in the region and the country, primarily in the submarkets of Apodaca and Escobedo, driven by companies in the logistics and automotive sectors.
The northwest was the only region with more industrial space construction starts in Q2 2024 compared to the previous quarter, with a 236% increase, reaching 3.3 million square feet, after only 1 million square feet of construction started in Q1 2024. Of this construction, 60% were speculative spaces, while the remaining 40% corresponded to BTS for lease and sale.
Additionally, Tijuana was the market that drove this construction activity, accounting for 50% of the construction starts, which represented double the activity of the previous quarter. It is followed by Mexicali, Ciudad Juárez, and Chihuahua.
It is worth noting that Tijuana is one of the markets with the lowest availability in the country, so reactivating construction starts was very important for the demand in the manufacturing and logistics market in the northern part of the country.
To learn more about construction starts in the national industrial real estate market, consult Datoz Analytics. If you are not yet a client, request your demo.
