India's Warehousing Boom: Q3 2025 Sees Major Recovery

India's warehousing sector rebounded by 64% in Q3 2025, driven by significant absorption in Mumbai, NCR, and Kolkata. Although this marks a sharp recovery from the previous quarter, absorption remains below last year's highs. The positive trend is attributed to gains in E-commerce and 3PL business activities.

The warehousing and logistics sector in India experienced a notable resurgence during the third quarter of 2025, with a national absorption increase of 64% compared to the preceding quarter, as revealed in a Vestian press release. Overall, the sector recorded 9.2 million square feet of absorption, reflecting ongoing recovery despite still being 36% below the record-high absorption from the same period last year.

Leading the recovery, Mumbai accounted for nearly 47% of the total absorption across the nation, amounting to 4.29 million square feet. This represented a staggering 377% increase from the previous quarter and a 10% uptick from Q3 2024. The regions of Bhiwandi and Panvel were significant contributors to this growth. Following Mumbai, the National Capital Region (NCR) contributed 1.28 million square feet, an 83% increase over the previous quarter, although it saw a 40% decline compared to the same period in the previous year. Chennai reported 1.13 million square feet in leasing activity, marking its best performance in seven quarters with a 151% increase from the last quarter and a 38% rise over Q3 2024.

Kolkata achieved its highest-ever absorption, with figures soaring to 1.26 million square feet, a remarkable increase of 950% over the previous quarter and 186% year-on-year. Hyderabad's absorption stood at 0.47 million square feet, reflecting modest growth over the prior quarter but a decline from last year's numbers. Conversely, Pune's absorption continued to dwindle, decreasing for the fourth consecutive quarter to 0.64 million square feet. Bengaluru recorded the lowest absorption among major cities, plummeting by 94% quarter-on-quarter and 90% year-on-year to just 0.13 million square feet.

Shrinivas Rao, FRICS, CEO of Vestian, expressed optimism over the quarter's 'clear signs of revival,' predominantly led by robust activity in Mumbai, Kolkata, and NCR. He attributed the revitalized demand to increased occupier interest and the burgeoning E-commerce and 3PL sectors, alongside a focus on network optimization and premium assets, predicting further enhancement in the coming months.

(With inputs from agencies.)