Cargo Breaking News
Knight Frank India in its latest half yearly report titled, India Warehousing Market Report, recorded a 42 per cent YoY surge in leasing volumes to 32.1 million square feet across the top markets like Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru. This sharp rise in demand was led by the manufacturing sector, which saw a 71 per cent YoY growth in space uptake, accounting for 45 per cent of the total transactions. The report highlights the expanding role of India as a resilient, consumption-led and manufacturing-driven economy whose industrial and warehousing market is benefiting from global trade realignments, government-led infrastructure and PLI investments. The increasing focus on higher grade facilities is also apparent. Transaction volumes reflect this shift as 63 per cent of leased space was Grade A, up from 54 per cent a year ago. Pan-India stock exceeded 500 mn sq ft in H1 2025, with Grade A assets constituting 75 per cent of new supply; vacancy dropped from 13.1 per cent to 12.1 per cent as supply lagged demand. The manufacturing sector emerged as the leading occupier during H1 2025, accounting for 45 per cent of all transactions, a significant leap from prior periods. The sector’s leasing volume reached 14.6 mn sq ft, up 71 per cent YoY in H1 2025. Notably, Mumbai and Pune together absorbed 44 per cent of this space, led by prominent companies such as SKS Fasteners, RenewSys India, Godrej & Boyce, and Lupin. The shift of global supply chains, government support through PLI schemes and India’s competitiveness in energy, chemicals, automotive and heavy engineering has positioned the country as a viable manufacturing destination. Interestingly, warehouses are also increasingly being retrofitted to industrial specifications to capitalise on the upswing in manufacturing activity.
