Q3 2026
Triad Industrial Market Report
The Piedmont Triad industrial market stayed tight through Q3 2026. Cushman & Wakefield tracks 255.9 million SF with 5.5% vacancy and an average asking rent of $6.37/SF; CBRE, which tracks a smaller set of buildings, reports 6.7% vacancy and $6.60/SF NNN. Year-to-date absorption is about 1.45 million SF, and the construction pipeline is concentrated in East Guilford and Randolph County around the Toyota and Food Lion projects.
5.5%
Vacancy (C&W)
$6.37
Avg. asking rent / SF / yr
1.45M SF
Net absorption YTD
5.1M SF
Under construction
255.9M SF
Inventory tracked
1.28M SF
Delivered YTD
$104–$139/SF
2026 modern sale comps
Data as of Q3 2026 (Cushman & Wakefield MarketBeat, Oct 15, 2026; CBRE Figures, Oct 9, 2026). Sources: Cushman & Wakefield Q3 2026 MarketBeat, CBRE Q3 2026 Figures, CBRE Q2 2026 Industrial report, NAI Piedmont Triad Q2 2026.
What it means
- Vacancy is low by national standards: 5.5% (C&W) to 6.7% (CBRE) depending on which buildings are counted. Brokers track different inventories, so compare each source only to itself.
- Average asking rent is $6.37/SF (C&W), up 1.4% from Q2. Flex runs about $8.48, warehouse/distribution $6.33, manufacturing $5.80.
- Rents vary more by submarket than by quarter: warehouse asking rents run from about $3.65 in Randolph County to nearly $9 in Kernersville.
- New construction is leasing slowly. Space delivered in Q3 was about 25% vacant at completion, which gives tenants leverage in new Class A buildings.
- Small and mid-size buildings remain tight. Kernersville (3.9%), Randolph (2.7%), and North Guilford (1.3%) have very little available space.
- 2026 sales of modern, functional buildings traded around $104–$139/SF; older multi-building parks traded far lower (about $24/SF in one High Point sale).
Demand drivers to watch
- JetZero broke ground June 15, 2026 on a $4.7B aircraft factory at PTI Airport (about 14,500 jobs planned over a decade)
- Toyota Battery North Carolina (Liberty) opened November 2025; about $14B investment with roughly 5,000 jobs planned
- Ahold Delhaize USA (Food Lion) $860M distribution center on the Guilford-Alamance line
- Lumentum retrofitting a ~240,000 SF Greensboro building for laser production (400+ jobs)
- Boom Supersonic's PTI factory faces a 500-employee lease test by Dec. 31, 2026
- I-74 Winston-Salem Northern Beltway eastern section expected to open by end of 2026
- Guilford and Davidson 2026 revaluations delayed by state law (SL 2026-8); new values expected to apply from FY2027-28
- Rates: 10-year Treasury at 5.09% (Oct 16, 2026) and SBA 504 25-year rate at 6.97% (Oct 2026), pressuring cap rates and leverage
Asking rent by product type
| Product | Avg. asking rent ($/SF/yr) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Warehouse / distribution | $6.33 | C&W Q3 2026 |
| Flex | $8.48 | C&W Q3 2026 |
| Manufacturing | $5.80 | C&W Q3 2026 |
| Class A (CBRE) | $8.05–$8.19 NNN | CBRE Q2 2026 |
| Class B & C (CBRE) | $6.09 NNN | CBRE Q2 2026 |
By submarket
| Submarket | Inventory | Vacancy | Asking rent | Under construction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greensboro & Guilford County | 74.9M SF | 6.2% | $5.00–$8.04 W/D | 2.36M SF |
| Winston-Salem & Forsyth County | 44.0M SF | 6.6% | $5.98–$7.25 W/D | 90K SF |
| High Point & Thomasville | 44.0M SF | 4.3% | $5.81 W/D | 0 SF |
| Kernersville | 6.7M SF | 3.9% | $8.95 W/D | 380K SF |
| Burlington & Alamance County | 27.2M SF | 7.3% | $7.03 W/D | 0 SF |
| Lexington & Davidson County | 16.3M SF | 4.7% | $4.70 W/D | 0 SF |
| Asheboro, Liberty & Randolph County | 18.3M SF | 2.7% | $3.65 W/D | 2.27M SF |
"—" means the source reports did not break this out.
Notable deals
| Deal | Location | Size | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Litens Automotive — 155,520 SF lease, 40 Logistics Center | East Guilford | 155,520 SF | Q3 2026 |
| Warehouse Republic — lease, Piedmont Commerce Center Bldg 4 | Kernersville | 94,454 SF | Q3 2026 |
| CBX Solutions — lease, West Point Industrial Park | West Forsyth | 94,500 SF | Q3 2026 |
| Undisclosed tenant — lease, 1947 N Fayetteville St | Asheboro | 100,000 SF | Q3 2026 |
| 1736 Whites Kennel Rd sold for $19.5M (~$104/SF) to owner-user | Burlington | 187,000 SF | Aug 2026 |
| Union Cross portfolio sold to LBA Logistics for $38.16M (~$112/SF) | Winston-Salem | 340,000 SF | Jul 2026 |
| Universal Industrial Park sold for $9.29M (~$24/SF) | High Point | ~392,000 SF | Apr 2026 |
| South Elm Industrial Center sold to Somerset Properties for $46.75M (~$139/SF) | Greensboro | 336,000 SF | Feb 2026 |
| 7915 Triad Center Dr sold to Hoffman & Hoffman for $23.5M (~$135/SF) | Greensboro | 173,280 SF | Jan 2026 |
| Food Lion (Ahold Delhaize) — 1.1M SF distribution center lease | Southeast Guilford | 1,100,000 SF | Q1 2026 |
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Market questions
What is the industrial vacancy rate in the Triad?
Cushman & Wakefield reported 5.5% Triad industrial vacancy for Q3 2026 across about 255.9 million SF; CBRE, which tracks a smaller set of buildings, reported 6.7%. The difference comes from which buildings each firm counts, so compare each source only to itself over time.
How much industrial space is under construction in the Triad?
Cushman & Wakefield's Q3 2026 submarket table shows about 5.1 million SF under construction, concentrated in East Guilford (about 2.0M SF) and Randolph County (about 2.3M SF); its narrative counts just over 1.0M SF, likely excluding build-to-suit projects. CBRE expects about 553,000 SF of speculative space to deliver in Q4 2026.
Which Triad submarkets have the lowest industrial vacancy?
In Q3 2026 (Cushman & Wakefield), North Guilford County (1.3%), Central Winston-Salem (2.5%), Randolph County (2.7%), Kernersville (3.9%), and High Point/Thomasville (4.3%) had among the lowest vacancy rates. West Forsyth (11.6%) and East Guilford (9.9%) were the highest, mostly because of new construction.
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