After several years of breakneck growth, Atlanta’s industrial sector has clearly shifted into a mid-cycle recalibration. Vacancy has climbed to 8.4 percent, well above the 10-year average of 5.8 percent, as a record wave of big-box deliveries collides with softer demand. Twelve-month net absorption turned negative for the first time since 2011, dropping 453,000 square feet despite 14.9 million square feet of new deliveries over the past year. Developers and tenants alike are adjusting, but the region’s logistics advantages and diverse economy keep long-term fundamentals intact. Supply and demand The pandemic-era surge of speculative construction has decisively slowed. Construction starts have fallen roughly 70 percent from the five-year average, leaving 16.3 million square feet under construction, with just 25 percent available — down from 60 percent a year ago. Most large projects are now data centers, such as a 1.5 million-square-foot QTS facility in Fayette/Coweta County and a 1.2 million-square-foot Microsoft data center near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Vacancy is rising fastest in submarkets that saw heavy new supply. Kennesaw/Acworth, for example, has added over 9 million square feet since 2023 and now posts about 13 percent availability for buildings sized 200,000 square feet and larger. Sublease availability has grown …
