In the first two months of 2023, Ciudad Juárez accumulated more than 82 thousand square meters of gross industrial demand, which makes it the second border market with the highest demand after Tijuana. Relocations continue to create significant pressure on the market, but it is production expansions that centralize much of the demand.

Industrial developers have continued incorporating more projects and so far this two-month period they have started another 21,000 square meters, bringing the number of projects in progress to more than 460,000 square meters.

Of interest: The following industrial submarkets capitalized on Monterrey's demand during 2022

This construction activity is not able to stop the decrease in vacancy, which reached 0.2% at the end of February 2023. The current availability concentrates about fifteen industrial buildings ranging from 7,000 to 30,000 square meters, practically all under construction.

The scarcity of industrial spaces motivates tenants to a strong competition where pre-leasing is used in order to ensure the required space as a figure that allows guaranteeing the negotiation of space.

Already in 2022, only a quarter of the warehouses under construction correspond to custom-made projects, maintaining this same trend, the demand that also leaned mainly towards speculative spaces.

Currently, availability is concentrated at 78% on the South submarket where developers such as Vesta, Fibra MacQuarie, and Fibra Upsite have some spaces to meet current market demands.

This market has presented an important evolution in the size of the spaces that are demanded over the last few years, which leads developers to modify their output products. Currently, availability is mainly focused on warehouses from 12 to 25 thousand square meters, which are the most sought after by potential tenants.

See also: ZF expands its presence in Ciudad Juárez

Another factor determining competitiveness among multiple players is their ability to address infrastructure challenges common to most Mexican industrial markets. The availability of electricity, the supply of water required for industrial use and the existence of natural gas to efficiently install production processes are the challenges to be resolved.

In its Urban Competitiveness 2022 report, the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness

He mentioned the five large cities, with more than 1 million inhabitants, that offer the best conditions to work, including Ciudad Juárez, Saltillo, Monterrey, Chihuahua and Mexicali. 

For this reason, Ciudad Juárez will continue to be one of the Mexican markets that have made great progress in terms of institutionalization and competition during 2023.