India Warehousing Demand Hits 4-Year Peak at 11 million Sq Ft in Q1 2026, Up 22% Year-on-Year

India’s industrial and warehousing sector has delivered its strongest first quarter in four years, with leasing activity across the top eight cities reaching 11 million square feet in Q1 2026 — a 22% year-on-year increase, according to a Colliers India report released on April 15, 2026.

Delhi-NCR led demand with a 28% share of total leasing, followed by Chennai at 21%. Hyderabad and Bengaluru also delivered strong momentum, with Grade A industrial and warehousing space absorption growing at 2–3 times compared to the same period in 2025. At the micro-market level, Hoskote-Narsapura in Bengaluru emerged as the most active location with 1.4 million sq ft of leasing, followed by Bhiwandi with around 1.1 million sq ft.

Third-party logistics (3PL) players were the dominant demand driver, accounting for around one-third of total leasing activity. Demand from 3PL during Q1 2026 was 1.8 times compared to Q1 2025 leasing activity, driven by expanding logistics requirements and supply chain modernisation. E-commerce and automobile sectors together accounted for about 32% of leasing activity, while FMCG and electronics firms also saw over 2x leasing on an annual basis. Large deals of over 200,000 sq ft accounted for 48% of total demand, at 5.3 million sq ft.

Despite the strong Q1, experts struck a cautious note on future supply additions. Vijay Ganesh, Managing Director of Industrial and Logistics Services at Colliers India, noted that ‘although long-term fundamentals of India’s industrial and warehousing market remain intact, developers are likely to adopt a measured approach with respect to supply additions in the near term amid prevailing geopolitical crisis and supply chain disruptions.’ Vimal Nadar, National Director and Head of Research at Colliers India, also flagged that the prolonged West Asia crisis remains a key monitorable factor.