In 2024, 163 Companies Vacated 1.3 Million Square Meters of Industrial Space in Mexico: Crisis or Market Reconfiguration?

In the first nine months of 2024, 1.3 million square meters of industrial space were vacated in Mexico. However, rather than a cause for alarm, this reflects temporary challenges some properties face amid shifting demand trends, especially considering absorption volume during the same period was four times higher, and currently, only 40% of the vacated spaces from 2024 remain partially or fully available.

The departure of 163 companies was the main driver of this vacancy. Of these, 12 relocated within the same industrial park or area to optimize operations, and 9 shifted to other markets. The majority, 142 companies, vacated spaces without immediately occupying new ones. These moves stem from various business strategies, ranging from portfolio adjustments to short-term lease expirations.

Half of the spaces vacated in 2024 that remain available are entirely vacant, while the rest have vacancy rates ranging from 10% to 90%. This variation highlights key differences in industrial spaces' location, size, and class.

Many spaces with less than 20% vacancy rate are concentrated in the Mexico City metropolitan area, exhibiting diversity in size and class. Those with vacancies between 20% and 50% are predominantly Class B, averaging 3,500 to 4,000 square meters, and are mainly found in the Bajío and Tijuana regions. Spaces with vacancy rates exceeding 50% but below 100% are also mostly Class B, with an average size of 5,500 square meters, concentrated in the northeast, particularly in Reynosa, Tamaulipas.

Finally, fully vacant spaces, mostly Class A with an average size of 8,000 square meters, are prominently located in Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez, which account for nearly half of these properties. The rest are distributed across the Mexico City metropolitan area, Monterrey, and Reynosa. These figures reflect regional patterns in absorption and availability dynamics, influenced by property quality and each market's economic and logistical specifics. This occurs in a context where, so far in 2024, average absorption rates—i.e., demand—have reached 12,000 square meters per transaction.