Warehouse leasing rises 26%, but new supply runs ahead in Pune and Ahmedabad

Grade-A industrial and warehousing leasing in India rose 26% to 33.3 million sq ft in January to September 2026, from 26.5 million sq ft a year earlier, according to Colliers India¹. New supply rose 19% to 34.5 million sq ft from 29 million sq ft, but from a larger base. Completions therefore exceeded nine-month leasing by 1.2 million sq ft¹.

The national total hides the part that matters for occupiers. New supply grew fastest in Pune and Ahmedabad, and Mumbai was the only one of eight markets where leasing fell¹.

Supply builds in Pune, Ahmedabad and Mumbai

Pune added 4.5 million sq ft of new supply, up 105% from 2.2 million sq ft, while leasing rose 70% to 3.4 million sq ft from 2 million sq ft¹. Ahmedabad's new supply rose 160% to 3.9 million sq ft from 1.5 million sq ft¹. Mumbai leased 3.6 million sq ft, down 14% from 4.2 million sq ft, even as supply rose 41% to 6.2 million sq ft from 4.4 million sq ft¹.

BusinessLine's report said rising supply in several markets was testing "occupancy, rental income and investment returns"¹. Colliers' figures as published do not include city rents or vacancy rates, so the gap between completions and leasing is the clearest signal for a buyer weighing a renewal¹.

Delhi NCR, Chennai and Bengaluru stay tighter

Delhi NCR leased 9.3 million sq ft, up 26% from 7.4 million sq ft, and Chennai 6.4 million sq ft, up 25% from 5.1 million sq ft. The two markets held 47% of demand¹. Farukh Nagar and NH 48 in Delhi NCR, with Bhiwandi in Mumbai, accounted for almost one-third of national leasing¹. Bengaluru leased 4.5 million sq ft, up 61% from 2.8 million sq ft¹. Seven of eight markets leased more than a year earlier¹.

The September quarter was stronger than the nine-month trend. Leasing rose 63% to 11.4 million sq ft from 7 million sq ft, while new supply rose 2% to 9.8 million sq ft from 9.6 million sq ft¹. Leasing beat completions by 1.6 million sq ft in the quarter¹. Vijay Ganesh, managing director of industrial and logistics services at Colliers India, said Delhi NCR and Chennai made up half of the quarter's leasing. He expects full-year leasing of 40 to 45 million sq ft¹.

3PLs and carmakers drive demand

Third-party logistics companies leased more than 11 million sq ft, about one-third of demand, followed by engineering firms with 6.6 million sq ft, or 20%¹. Automobile occupiers grew fastest at 70%, while e-commerce, electronics and engineering each rose about 30%¹. Deals above 200,000 sq ft were 37% of leasing, and e-commerce and logistics companies signed 58% of them¹.

Vimal Nadar, Colliers India's national director and head of research, said the wider spread of occupiers was "reducing reliance on a single demand segment" and supporting long-term growth¹.

What the totals leave out

Colliers' figures exclude lease renewals, pre-commitments and deals covered only by letters of intent¹. The growth number therefore measures newly committed space rather than all the space occupiers are signing¹. Renewals sit outside these totals, and they are where an existing occupier's rent is reset.

New supply keeps coming. Chennai-based Sameera Group plans to invest ₹1,500 crore to ₹1,800 crore over four to five years in five to six industrial parks in Tamil Nadu. Its first project is a 4.5 lakh sq ft warehouse in the Sriperumbudur-Kanchipuram industrial belt². The developer cited about three million sq ft of leasing in Chennai in the first half of 2026 as a sign of demand².

Investors are buying income-producing parks. Brookfield said on October 7 it would put ₹4,300 crore into buying and building eight parks linked to ESR India's portfolio, covering 10.5 million sq ft across five major markets¹. That follows IndoSpace Core's ₹3,000 crore purchase of six parks in late 2025, partly backed by CPP Investments. The two transactions total ₹7,300 crore in reported deal value¹.