Join 70,000+ commercial real estate professionals getting daily news, market insights, and industry analysis delivered straight to their inbox with the free CRE Daily newsletter. DFW industrial leasing reached 40.3M SF in the first half of 2026, a record pace fueled by broad-based demand and data center activity. Big-box users accounted for nearly one-third of the 72M SF in new commitments signed over the past 12 months, while rents climbed 13% year over year.
Tightening space availability could push more occupiers toward build-to-suit projects and keep development active across DFW's outer submarkets. DFW's industrial market is showing little sign of slowing down in 2026. Leasing reached a record 40.3M SF in the first half of the year, according to Bisnow.
Data center-related users are adding to strong demand from logistics, manufacturing and e-commerce tenants. Big-box leasing is also gaining momentum as large blocks of available space become harder to find. With rents rising and vacancy holding near 8%, the market is entering the second half with both strong demand and growing pressure on supply.
Dallas-Fort Worth's industrial market is running at a record pace, with leasing activity reaching 40.3M SF through the first half of 2026. According to Cushman & Wakefield's Q2 2026 MarketBeat report, quarterly leasing volume increased nearly 4% from Q1, with data center-related demand adding another growth engine to an already diverse occupier base. The market's traditional demand drivers — third-party logistics, manufacturing, e-commerce fulfillment and retail wholesale — remain active.
Data center suppliers, manufacturers and service providers are now adding meaningful volume to the mix. Landlords signed more than 72M SF of new commitments during the 12 months through Q2 2026, another market record. Nearly one-third went to 23 big-box users occupying at least 500K SF, a concentration that is becoming increasingly important as large blocks of available space disappear.
DFW had 29.8M SF of industrial space under construction at the end of Q2, down modestly from Q1 after 13.6M SF delivered during the quarter. The metro's pipeline represents nearly 10% of the more than 300M SF of industrial space under construction nationally. As demand pushes into larger blocks, developers are increasingly looking beyond the metro's core.
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