Daijiworld Media Network- New Delhi
New Delhi, Apr 23: India's industrial and warehousing sector recorded a robust performance in Q1 2025, with total leasing activity across the top eight cities touching 9 million square feet — marking a 15 per cent year-on-year increase, according to a recent report by Colliers.
Delhi-NCR and Chennai emerged as the frontrunners, jointly contributing to nearly 57 per cent of the total demand during the quarter. Delhi-NCR, in particular, witnessed heightened interest in Grade A industrial and warehousing spaces.
The engineering sector led the charge, accounting for about 25 per cent of the total uptake — the highest among all sectors. It was followed by e-commerce, which secured a 21 per cent share, overtaking Third Party Logistics (3PL) — historically the dominant driver of demand.
Chennai and Bengaluru experienced significant leasing activity from engineering companies, while Delhi-NCR and Mumbai saw strong demand from e-commerce players.
“Automobile players also picked up significant Grade A industrial and warehousing space at 1.3 million sq ft. These are healthy signs of overall growth, reflecting broad-based demand which aligns with domestic macro-economic indicators,” noted Vijay Ganesh, Managing Director, Industrial and Logistics Services, Colliers India.
Engineering and e-commerce sectors collectively accounted for nearly 46 per cent of total leasing. The engineering sector alone saw leasing of about 2.2 million sq ft, doubling its activity from the previous year, led by demand in Chennai and Bengaluru. E-commerce firms leased close to 2 million sq ft, with Delhi-NCR and Mumbai taking the lead.
The quarter also saw a substantial presence of large deals — over 200,000 sq ft — which made up 48 per cent of the demand, totalling 4.3 million sq ft. These were primarily driven by e-commerce, engineering, and automobile firms.
Adding to the momentum, new supply stood at 9.4 million sq ft in Q1 2025, marking a 16 per cent year-on-year increase. This indicates renewed developer confidence and strong market fundamentals in the industrial and warehousing segment.