Markets · Research

Midwest industrial market reports

Quarterly fundamentals across 20 Midwest metros — vacancy, asking rents, net absorption, and construction — powered by CoStar data and read through Bluebird's value-add lens. Current as of 2026 Q1.

Core markets

Columbus, OH

One of the Midwest's fastest-growing logistics markets, anchored by Rickenbacker's air-cargo hub and Intel-driven demand.

6.5%
Vacancy
$8.41
Rent/SF
10.9M
Absorp.

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Indianapolis, IN

A national logistics nexus at the crossroads of six interstates — within a one-day drive of ~80% of the U.S. population. Big-box vacancy has risen as speculative supply cleared, but small-bay and infill product remains tight and below replacement cost, exactly where Bluebird focuses.

7.6%
Vacancy
$7.71
Rent/SF
11.5M
Absorp.

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Milwaukee, WI

A manufacturing-driven market on the I-94 corridor between Chicago and Minneapolis, with below-replacement rents and sub-3% vacancy in smaller-bay facilities — the heart of Bluebird's Wisconsin footprint.

5.1%
Vacancy
$7.68
Rent/SF
1.2M
Absorp.

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Minneapolis, MN

Anchored by Medtronic, Target, and 3M among 17 Fortune 500 headquarters, Minneapolis–St. Paul industrial demand spreads across medical device, retail distribution, advanced manufacturing, and logistics — a diversification that has held vacancy near 4% through consecutive cycles. The Northwest Maple Grove and Northeast I-35W corridors hold the functional small-bay and multi-tenant infill product we target: buildings priced below replacement cost where in-place rents still lag a market that has climbed roughly 36% since 2021 (CoStar). New small-bay supply stays constrained — construction economics on sub-60,000-SF multi-tenant product at Twin Cities land costs don't underwrite — so the in-place-to-market rent gap closes through disciplined leasing and mark-to-market renewals, not through a growth assumption.

4.3%
Vacancy
$9.57
Rent/SF
647,036
Absorp.

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Saint Louis, MO

A central-U.S. multimodal hub with the nation's second-largest inland port and two Class I railroads. Tight small-bay fundamentals and rents below the cost to build new — core to Bluebird's footprint in the Earth City / Riverport corridor.

5.4%
Vacancy
$7.42
Rent/SF
-2.9M
Absorp.

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Coverage markets

Akron, OH
5.5% vacancy · $7.13/SF · -1.3M SF absorbed
→
Chicago, IL
5.4% vacancy · $10.07/SF · 5.5M SF absorbed
→
Cincinnati, OH
4.8% vacancy · $7.53/SF · 5.1M SF absorbed
→
Cleveland, OH
4.3% vacancy · $6.71/SF · -929,554 SF absorbed
→
Dayton, OH
5.3% vacancy · $6.51/SF · 1.5M SF absorbed
→
Des Moines, IA
7.0% vacancy · $7.85/SF · 253,570 SF absorbed
→
Detroit, MI
4.9% vacancy · $8.96/SF · -414,096 SF absorbed
→
Fort Wayne, IN
3.2% vacancy · $6.18/SF · 2.1M SF absorbed
→
Grand Rapids, MI
3.3% vacancy · $7.38/SF · 1.2M SF absorbed
→
Kansas City, MO
5.8% vacancy · $7.37/SF · 7.6M SF absorbed
→
Lincoln, NE
2.6% vacancy · $7.92/SF · -32,776 SF absorbed
→
Madison, WI
4.2% vacancy · $8.15/SF · 560,318 SF absorbed
→
Omaha, NE
2.4% vacancy · $8.69/SF · 1.5M SF absorbed
→
Toledo, OH
3.3% vacancy · $6.09/SF · 474,887 SF absorbed
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Wichita, KS
3.8% vacancy · $7.26/SF · 988,597 SF absorbed
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Market data sourced from CoStar (2026 Q1). Provided for informational purposes only.

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