Asia Pacific’s logistics and industrial real estate sector poised for continued growth despite diverging market conditions
Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK) has published its inaugural global logistics and industrial outlook, ‘Waypoint 2025’, which highlights a significant shift in the sector as global supply chains are reconfigured and cost pressures evolve. Drawing on insights from more than 120 markets worldwide, the report shows that in the near term, the balance of power is tilting towards landlords, with wide-reaching implications for occupiers, investors, and developers.
The research reveals that globally, the proportion of tenant-favourable markets is expected to fall sharply from 52% today to just 28% by 2028. This change is being driven by constrained supply, robust demand, and rising costs across key inputs such as rent, labour, construction materials, and electricity. At the same time, landlord-favourable markets are forecast to rise from 24% to 35%, signalling a more competitive leasing environment in the years ahead for occupiers.
In Asia Pacific (APAC), fundamentals remain strong but market conditions are becoming more nuanced. The region currently offers more balanced conditions, with 24% favouring landlords and 33% favouring tenants. Over the next three years, markets in the region are expected to move away from a balanced, neutral position toward more polarising tenant- and landlord-favourable market conditions. Neutral markets are expected to decline to 29% from the current 42%, while tenant-friendly markets are anticipated to grow to 38% from 33%. Similarly, landlord-favourable markets are expected to rise to 33%, up from 24%
Dr. Dominic Brown, Head of International Research at Cushman & Wakefield said,
“Asia Pacific markets are diverging, with Australia and Southeast Asia seeing a shift towards landlord-favourable conditions, while other parts of the region face rising vacancies and tenant-friendly dynamics. Nevertheless, 62% of APAC markets still expect rental growth in the next three years, driven by robust occupier demand, strategic manufacturing shifts and the region’s cost competitiveness in labour and energy.”
In terms of labour costs, APAC remains highly competitive, with countries like India, Vietnam, Philippines, and Indonesia having significantly lower wages. China has moved toward higher value-added manufacturing, with wages around 50% of the global average.
Another highlight of the report is that general manufacturing, retail distribution and e-commerce distribution are the top three key drivers of demand for logistics and industrial space in Asia Pacific. This is very much aligned to what is being seen across the world. High-tech and automotive manufacturing have also been identified as drivers of occupier demand in APAC over the next three years.
Dennis Yeo, Head of Investor Services and Logistics & Industrial, APAC, Cushman & Wakefield said:
“Asia Pacific continues to demonstrate resilience, with markets such as India and Vietnam seeing sustained occupier demand. However, rising vacancy in some subregions, driven by a surge in new supply means that a one-size-fits-all approach no longer works. Businesses must adopt granular, market-specific strategies that account for local cost structures, infrastructure readiness, and automation potential.”
‘Waypoint 2025’ also explores how cost pressures are reshaping location strategies globally. Labour costs1, for example, vary significantly across regions, with average logistics and industrial wages in Switzerland nearly double the global average, while countries such as India and Vietnam remain far more cost-effective. These disparities are prompting companies to reassess their site selection criteria, taking into account not only wages but also energy reliability and the potential for automation.
Although global rental growth has slowed since its 2022 peak, more than half of all markets are still expected to see rents rise through to 2027, driven by occupier demand and new supply in select regions. Only 13% of markets are expected to see rents fall over the three-year period. In APAC, 62% of all markets are expected to see rental growth, backed by strong occupier demand; this is also the case in the Americas. In EMEA, where 60% of markets are expected to see a rise in rental levels, new supply pushing asking rents higher is a key driver of rental growth.
Furthermore, in the Americas, just 12% of markets expect an increase in vacancy rates over the next five years, while in APAC, nearly half of markets anticipate rising vacancy. EMEA is expected to remain relatively stable, with balanced supply and demand in many markets.
The report concludes that resilience and diversity in supply chains will be essential for navigating both short- and long-term market shocks. Businesses that act decisively and strategically will be best placed to thrive in this evolving industrial landscape.
The full report, including regional breakdowns of rental levels, market conditions and vacancy projections, energy and labour cost comparisons, and analysis of demand drivers such as e-commerce and manufacturing, is available at Waypoint 2025.
Note to Editors
‘Waypoint 2025’ is Cushman & Wakefield’s inaugural global logistics & industrial research report which includes results from a survey of Cushman & Wakefield logistics and industrial market-facing colleagues for 127 markets worldwide. The survey was conducted from 7-18th April 2025, after the Trump Administration announced the suspension of most higher tariff rates for 90 days, while maintaining the 10% levy on nearly all global imports.
In a market defined within this research as landlord-favourable, landlords have the stronger negotiating position, and in a market defined as tenant-favourable, tenants have the stronger negotiating position.
1Analysis of labour costs is based on data from Economic Research Institute for 11 different warehousing and production roles across each location, including operators, labourers, managers, supervisors, mechanics, and truck and forklift drivers.
