Who is really using Houston's warehouses? (Industry vs. Space use)

General warehouses accounted for 50% of the total square footage leased in Q1, supporting a wide spectrum of distribution, light industrial, and production-oriented operations. This trend is most evident in the tech sector, where tenants leased warehouse buildings almost exclusively, despite roughly 75% of their operations functioning as advanced manufacturing.
This is causing a ripple effect across Houston’s traditional industrial base. Dedicated manufacturing space is incredibly tight; it only makes up 14.2% of our total market and has a 3.6% vacancy rate. Considering that nearly a quarter of those buildings are owner-occupied, it leaves very little room for new leasing to cycle through.
We see the result of this supply crunch with industrial equipment & machinery occupiers. As a top occupier, these firms are being squeezed out of limited manufacturing stock and forced into distribution centers. As modern distribution and warehouse developments are increasingly built "crane-ready" with 2,000-amp service, the functional line between "warehouse" and "manufacturing" is rapidly blurring to meet changing demand.

May 12, 2026

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