Industrial Construction Costs Rise Amid Improving Demand

Industrial construction costs are rising across the Americas amid improving demand and a recovering development pipeline that create renewed competition for materials and skilled labor, Cushman & Wakefield reported Monday. The firm’s 2026 Industrial Construction Cost Guide found that construction costs increased across all three project sizes tracked.

Small industrial projects rose an average of 3.6% year-over-year to $144 per square foot. Medium projects increased 2.8% to $87 per square foot, while large projects rose 2.3% to $78 per square foot.

“The industrial recovery is becoming more expensive,” said Michael Morehead, industrial manufacturing sector lead, Americas, Project & Development Services at Cushman & Wakefield. “Our research shows demand strengthening and the construction pipeline rebuilding, while development costs are rising across virtually every market we track. For occupiers and developers, that means the next phase of the cycle will require even greater discipline around location, building specifications and capital planning.”

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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