Industrial Insights V1 2025 FINAL 4.28.25 - Flipbook - Page 6
TIMELINE TO TODAY
MAJOR MILESTONES THAT HAVE SHAPED OUR MARKET
Charleston’s industrial market didn’t arrive at 17.3% vacancy overnight. The past ten years have
been marked by rapid evolution from steady port-driven growth, to pandemic-fueled demand,
to an unprecedented wave of speculative development. As developers moved aggressively to
deliver new product, Charleston’s inventory swelled to over 100 million square feet. The result?
A market now working through a period of recalibration. This timeline maps out the pivotal
moments that brought us to this point and sets the stage for what’s next.
6
2022
2021
SPEC CONSTRUCTION
ACCELERATES
OVER 5M SF INDUSTRIAL
PRODUCT ABSORBED
Vacancy dips to
2.0%; developers
break ground on
millions of SF in
speculative space,
betting on sustained
demand
Charleston sees
historic absorption,
fueled by logistics,
3PLs, and portrelated activity
2023
2024
PORT OF CHARLESTON
REACHES 2.5M TEU
INDUSTRIAL INVENTORY
SURPASSES 100M SF
SC Ports handles
2.5M TEUs, most on
record on an annual
basis
Charleston crosses
a major milestone
with over 100 million
SF of total industrial
inventory
