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Markets · Ports · Logistics
Houston industrial land: data center, port and air-cargo demand
Houston recorded plus 11,891,483 square feet of year-to-date industrial net absorption at 6.3% vacancy and $7.87 asking rent. Data as of Q2 2026. Project 11 is complete across all Port Houston-led segments, delivering a 700-foot channel and eliminating daylight transit restrictions.
Key takeaways
- Industrial net absorption is plus 11,891,483 square feet year to date at 6.3% vacancy and $7.87 asking rent (Q2 2026).
- Project 11 is complete across all Port Houston-led segments, with a 700-foot channel and daylight transit restrictions eliminated.
- Bayport Wharf 7 adds 1,000 feet of berth and 500,000 TEU, against $2.1 billion of landside capital planned over five years.
- 2025 throughput was 4,303,345 TEU, up 4%, and Q1 2026 was the first quarter above one million TEU.
A quarterly brief on powered land, port capacity and air-cargo gateways, plus the Powered Land and Gateway Pricing Benchmarks data file.
- Dollar per megawatt and dollar per acre benchmarks by market, with the substation-distance and voltage premiums applied
- Every committed United States port capacity opening from 2026 through 2035, with cost, TEU and date
- Airport-adjacent rent premiums by gateway, and the constraint map that drives them
- The named project pipeline: site, megawatts, developer, power source, status
- Sources and periods for every cell. Nothing unattributed.
Houston in numbers
| Metric | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Industrial vacancy | 6.3% | Q2 2026 |
| Industrial net absorption, year to date | plus 11,891,483 sq ft | Q2 2026 |
| Industrial asking rent | $7.87 per sq ft | Q2 2026 |
| Project 11 | Complete across all Port Houston-led segments, 700-foot channel, daylight transit restrictions eliminated | 2026 |
| Bayport Wharf 7 | 1,000 feet of berth, 500,000 TEU | 2026 |
| Landside capital planned | $2.1 billion over five years | 2026 to 2031 |
| Throughput | 4,303,345 TEU, up 4% | 2025 |
| Quarterly throughput | First quarter above one million TEU | Q1 2026 |
What buyers are paying for here
Houston prices land on channel access and yard use rather than on power attributes, and the Houston Ship Channel and La Porte submarket is the leading edge of the industrial outdoor storage boom.
That matters because IOS underwriting values a parcel on acreage, paving, zoning and truck access rather than on building square footage. A site that would be an average warehouse parcel can be an above-market IOS parcel, and plus 11,891,483 square feet of year-to-date absorption at 6.3% vacancy shows a market with very little slack for either use.
The forward premium is channel capacity. Project 11 is complete across all Port Houston-led segments with a 700-foot channel and daylight transit restrictions eliminated, and Bayport Wharf 7 adds 1,000 feet of berth and 500,000 TEU against $2.1 billion of planned landside capital. Parcels inside that catchment are being bid on the 2025 throughput of 4,303,345 TEU and the first million-TEU quarter in Q1 2026.
Apply the published substation-distance and service-voltage premiums to a parcel in Houston with the powered land premium calculator.
What is under construction within 100 miles
Project 11 is complete across all Port Houston-led segments, producing a 700-foot channel and eliminating daylight transit restrictions.
Bayport Wharf 7 adds 1,000 feet of berth and 500,000 TEU of capacity.
Port Houston has $2.1 billion of landside capital planned over five years.
Throughput reached 4,303,345 TEU in 2025, up 4%, and the first quarter of 2026 was the first quarter above one million TEU.
The constraint
USACE-led Segment 3 dredging is the outstanding item, with contractors returning in the third quarter of 2026.
Project 11 is finished on every Port Houston-led segment, so the remaining schedule risk sits with the federal segment rather than with the port.
For a landowner that is a favourable asymmetry. The channel improvements that drive demand into the La Porte and Ship Channel submarkets are already delivered on the port's own segments, while the federal work still to come is additive rather than enabling. Pricing a parcel as if the whole programme were contingent understates it.
Who covers Houston
Brad Cohen covers Houston for Landside Partners. Send one parcel and he will return a written read on what it is worth against the demand above, using data as of Q2 2026.
No fee. One parcel. One page. Usually back within five business days.
A quarterly brief on powered land, port capacity and air-cargo gateways, plus the Powered Land and Gateway Pricing Benchmarks data file.
- Dollar per megawatt and dollar per acre benchmarks by market, with the substation-distance and voltage premiums applied
- Every committed United States port capacity opening from 2026 through 2035, with cost, TEU and date
- Airport-adjacent rent premiums by gateway, and the constraint map that drives them
- The named project pipeline: site, megawatts, developer, power source, status
- Sources and periods for every cell. Nothing unattributed.
This research was produced by Landside Partners, a commercial real estate research and advisory firm working with owners of industrial land across North America on data center, seaport and air-cargo demand. To have a specific parcel assessed, contact Brad Cohen at Landside Partners.
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