Industrial Sector Longs For 'Boost Of Confidence' Amid High Vacancies, Sluggish Rental Growth The formerly full-speed-ahead industrial market is struggling to hit its stride this year. Tenants for industrial buildings are taking longer to sign leases. Vacancy rates are climbing. The industrial development pipeline is at seven-year lows. And though executives at some of the nation's largest industrial REITs believe the slump will be short-lived, there is no sign yet that a turnaround is imminent. “If you step back, there's really not been any positive economic news, whether it's global unrest, or interest rate cuts that were supposed to start in March of this year, or one of the most unusual elections I think any of us have seen,” said Marshall Loeb, president and CEO of EastGroup Properties, during the company’s Q3 earnings call last week. “There hasn't been a real boost of confidence.” 
Top executives at publicly traded companies in the industrial sector hope that the current state of play represents the bottom of the market and that key metrics like vacancy rates, rent growth and new development will improve in 2025. The resolution of the election in the fourth quarter, coupled with additional… Read the full story here. | 
