Industrial REITs are companies that own, manage, and lease industrial real estate. Industrial real estate properties may include warehouses, distribution centers, and manufacturing facilities. These industrial REITs are well positioned in today’s economy as they have assets that support e‑commerce, data centers, and rapid delivery networks.
Green Street forecasts that e-commerce sales will outpace brick-and-mortar sales in 2026, which suggests strong continued demand for industrial warehouse leases. Green Street also estimates that online sales require around three times more warehouse space than brick‑and‑mortar retail. Despite concerns over the impact of tariff policies, industrial leases benefit from the structural demands of e-commerce and existing supply chains.
According to Prologis, Inc.’s (NYSE: PLD) first quarter earnings reports, the Iran conflict has not significantly disrupted industrial demand. Prologis cited strong March leasing and largely unchanged 2026 customer plans, in contrast to the immediate leasing pause seen after the April 2025 tariff announcements. Year-to-date as of April 30, industrial REITs posted a 10.4% return. Last year as of April 30, industrial REITs posted a -3.8% return.
CoStar data reveal that the industrial occupancy rate has been trending downward since mid-year 2022; it was 92.5% as of Q1 2026. Although industrial supply has bested demand for the past 15 quarters, excess net demand (net absorption less net deliveries) has been rising since its lowest point in Q4 2023.
Vikram Malhotra, managing director, real estate equities at Mizuho, noted that warehouses over 500,000 square feet have done “very well,” as companies like Walmart and Amazon adapt to the necessity of quick, last-mile distribution. Mizuho currently estimates overall sector vacancy at 7.5%. That rate is close to peaking, Malhotra said, and then should modestly trend down.
Global instability is likely to strengthen the reshoring trend that has been a theme for the past few years, Malhotra added. Despite the ongoing conflict, the demand for logistics space is expected to reach 150-200 million square feet annually, a significant uptick from previous years, he noted.
Nareit’s REIT Industry Tracker shows that industrial operational performance and balance sheets have maintained strength. As of Q4 2025, industrial sector net operating income (NOI) increased by 2.7% quarter-over-quarter and by 5.6% year-over-year. On average, fixed rate debt accounted for 83.9% of total debt; the weighted average interest rate on debt was 3.6%. The weighted average term to maturity on debt was 7.1 years.
20%
In 2025, Amazon alone absorbed roughly 36 million square feet of industrial space, which accounted for nearly 20% of expected total U.S. net absorption.
9,028
According to Nareit’s REITs Across America 2025, industrial REITs own 9,028 structures across the U.S.
121 million
CoStar data indicates that past four quarter net absorption for leased industrial space was 121 million square feet, as of Q1 2026.
Sector Spotlight
- Constituents: 11
- One-Year Return: 34.3%
- Three-Year Return: 5.0%
- Five-Year Return: 4.7%
- Dividend Yield: 3.4%
- Market Cap: $183.1 billion
- Dividends Paid (2025: Q4): $1.7 billion
- NOI (2025: Q4): $3.2 billion
Source: FTSE, Nareit T-Tracker® | As of April 30.