Of all the companies that vacated space, around 60% continue operating in the country’s main industrial markets, adjusting space rather than closing plants. Of the remaining 40%—which may have closed or moved operations to smaller or non-SiiLA-monitored markets—the majority (75%) are small and mid-sized companies, the segment most sensitive to operating costs and sector rotation.

This adjustment, rather than a sign of weakness, appears to be the natural result of a market beginning to operate with more slack. During the years of greatest demand pressure, between 2021 and 2023, many companies occupied spaces that did not fully fit their needs—by location, size, or configuration—amid scarce supply. Now, with greater availability and a more moderate expansion pace, companies are shedding inefficient square meters, optimizing operations, or relocating to facilities that better reflect their current scale.

Such behavior seems more the rule than the exception: nearly 70% of the companies that released space are large and have at least five years of operation—a range in which, according to INEGI, the annual mortality rate does not exceed 2.5%. In other words, these exits are more likely the result of operational readjustment than of definitive closures.

Against this backdrop—where growth often equates to expansion—the industrial market offers a different lesson: solidity is also built by letting space go. For more details, visit SiiLA Market Analytics or write to contacto@siila.com.mx.