Just 3.6% of the Des Moines area’s industrial and warehouse space is vacant as more than 1.4 million square feet was absorbed in 2021, according to CBRE|Hubbell Commercial’s 2021 fourth-quarter industrial market report.

A year ago, 3.3 million square feet of industrial space, or 5.4%, was vacant, according to Hubbell’s 2020 end-of-year report.

Currently, 2.2 million square feet of industrial space is vacant, according to the new report. Industrial space includes the subsections of warehouse and distribution, manufacturing and flex.

“Robust warehouse and distribution user activity drove market performance,” the report said.

In addition, four speculative projects totaling 741,000 square feet were completed in the fourth quarter.

Other highlights from Hubbell’s fourth-quarter report include:

• Construction began on 796,800 square feet of speculative space. Overall, more than 2.2 million square feet of industrial space is under construction in the Des Moines market. All of the construction is in industrial’s warehouse and distribution segment.

• Warehouse and distribution vacancy rates range from 1.9% in the northeast part of the market to 5.3% in the western suburbs.

• Construction of more than 1.4 million square feet of industrial space is expected to be completed in 2022, a 30% increase over the previous five-year average of 996,586, square feet. Two-thirds of the new space expected to be completed in 2022 is in the northeast submarket.

Read the report.