Economy
Atlanta's job market remained steady in the second quarter. Total nonfarm employment registered minimal annual growth while the unemployment rate held at 3.3%, remaining below the U.S. average.
The Georgia Ports Authority's Gainesville Inland Port opened in early May, offering direct rail service to the Port of Savannah. The new route is expected to eliminate a 600-mile roundtrip trucking route for many shipments—reducing highway traffic and emissions across the region. With a well-connected statewide supply chain network, Atlanta remains well positioned as an attractive industrial market for occupiers.
Demand
Industrial momentum accelerated in Q2. New leasing activity increased 26.3% from the prior quarter to 10.2 million square feet (msf), making Atlanta one of only five industrial markets in the nation to exceed 10.0 msf. Combined with Q1, the first half of 2026 exceeded H1 totals in each of the prior three years.
Demand was driven by large-scale deals in Q2, as 40.6% of new leasing volume was above 500,000 square feet (sf), despite comprising just six transactions. Among these was a notable 1.2 msf transaction by the e-commerce giant Amazon, marking the first lease of 2026 over 1.0 msf. Still, the bulk of deals remained below 50,000 sf. Transaction volume was largely concentrated within three submarkets that controlled 81.8% of demand: I-85 North commanded one-third of the metro's activity, followed by I-75 South (26.8%) and I-75 North (21.6%). Third-party logistics (3PL) firms were the most common new tenants across Atlanta. Three of the top five largest new deals were signed by 3PLs—Pactra, US eLogistics, and GXO. While new leasing activity strengthened, renewals slowed across the metro as existing tenants resigned a total of 3.9 msf.
Occupancy remained stable across Atlanta in Q2 with 2.1 msf of space absorbed. Combined with Q1, the first-half absorption total reached 5.9 msf—surpassing H1 totals recorded from 2023 to 2025. Four tenants occupied spaces larger than 500,000 sf during the quarter, led by Living Spaces (1.0 msf) and Amazon (933,656 sf). However, these gains were partially offset by Broadrange Logistics, which vacated a total of nearly 1.3 msf.
Supply
Atlanta's industrial construction activity remained well below historical averages but was in line with the national trend. The metro averaged 6.0 msf of quarterly deliveries between 2021 and 2025, while 2.2 msf completed in Q2 2026. Of the eight buildings delivered during the quarter, seven were developed on a speculative basis—with 29.0% preleased before completion—while the remaining project was a build-to-suit for Amazon. Atlanta's year-to-date deliveries totaled 3.9 msf, ranking fifth nationally. An additional 7.3 msf is actively under construction, set to deliver by mid-2027. The pipeline can be expected to grow as developers gain market confidence and move forward with proposed projects.
Atlanta recorded a direct vacancy rate of 7.7% in Q2. On an annual basis, the rate tightened by 80 basis points (bps), indicating longer term stability across the metro. I-85 North and I-75 North recorded impactful annual improvements of 180 bps and 140 bps, respectively. Since Q1, the direct vacancy rate remained steady, increasing just 10 bps. Several speculative deliveries and tenant move-outs contributed to the modest uptick, led by Airport/South Atlanta, where vacancy rose 60 bps. Conversely, I-75 North and Stone Mountain/Decatur yielded improvements of 30 and 20 bps.
Rental Rates
New construction and sustained demand elevated pricing across Atlanta to a new high in Q2. The direct asking rate for all industrial product reached $7.53 per square foot (psf), while warehouse/distribution specific rates rose to $7.38 psf. I-75 North (4.8%) and Georgia 400 Corridor (4.0%) recorded the largest quarter-over-quarter rent gains.
Despite the local increase, Atlanta remained uniquely positioned among the nation's highest-demand industrial markets, with asking rents priced at a discount to the other four metros that recorded more than 10.0 msf of quarterly leasing.
