Romania's industrial and logistics stock nears 8 mln sqm in H1

 Romania's stock of industrial and logistics space reached nearly 8 million square meters in the first half of this year, with more than 60% located in projects within an hour's drive of Bucharest, while Moldavia and Oltenia remain the least developed regions, according to the Romania Industrial & Logistics Market report released on Wednesday.According to research by Cushman & Wakefield Echinox, about 4.6 million sqm of the total national stock of 7.75 million sqm at the end of June was concentrated around Bucharest, Ploiesti and Pitesti.Meanwhile, Timisoara, Brasov and Cluj have strengthened their positions as regional industrial hubs over the past 18 months, with the parks near these cities totaling 1.7 million sqm, or over 20% of the stock.Overall, Bucharest and the five main regional cities ? representing the Bucharest-Ilfov, South-Muntenia, West, Center and North-West regions ? account for more than 80% of Romania's industrial warehouse stock.Regionally, Bucharest-Ilfov leads with 47.4% of the total, followed by the West (15.1%), South-Muntenia (11.4%), Center (9.4%) and North-West (8.8%).By contrast, the least developed regions in terms of industrial and logistics space are North-East (2.8%) and South-East (1.6%), while South-West Oltenia accounts for just 3.6%."By comparison, these three regions ? home to roughly 40% of Romania's population ? represent under 10% of the total industrial and logistics stock. Currently, around 440,000 sqm of industrial parks are under construction, over 80% of them near Bucharest. Other areas attracting developer interest include North-West, North-East and West, with 17% of the 2025 deliveries expected in Moldavia and Transylvania. Transaction activity remained strong between January 2024 and June 2025, with companies contracting nearly 1.4 million sqm of space. In the same period, 764,000 sqm of new space was delivered nationwide, while the vacancy rate stayed low at 5.8%, creating development opportunities particularly in under-supplied areas," shows the report.Consultants highlight that Bucharest-Ilfov absorbed the largest share of demand over the past 18 months, with 62% of leasing transactions concluded in projects near the capital. The West ranked second with 16% of demand, followed by the North-West with 8%.Cushman & Wakefield Echinox ? the exclusive affiliate of Cushman & Wakefield in Romania, independently owned and operated ? employs over 80 professionals providing a full range of real estate consultancy services to investors, developers, owners and tenants.