Between 2021 and 2023, Ciudad Juárez experienced one of the tightest industrial markets in its history, with vacancy rates hovering around 1-2%. That cycle is over. For any company evaluating a move into the Juárez–El Paso corridor, understanding this shift –and what it actually means– is the first step before searching for space.

From near-zero vacancy to the current reset

By the end of 2025, industrial vacancy in Juárez stood at roughly 10-11%, up from 8% just a year earlier, according to Newmark's quarterly report. Other firms report different figures for the same period –Datoz calculated close to 9.9% for Class A space in the first quarter of 2026, while Solili placed overall vacancy closer to 6%–, which is normal: each firm tracks a slightly different universe of buildings. What matters isn't memorizing an exact number, but the trend: vacancy has been climbing steadily since the historic lows of 2022-2023.

Available inventory

Juárez holds approximately 89 million square feet of industrial inventory spread across more than 40 parks, with over 320 active manufacturing plants. Gross absorption has stayed solid –over one million square feet in the last quarter of 2025 alone–, which shows demand is still there; it simply no longer outpaces supply the way it did at the peak of the nearshoring boom.

Rents: stable and competitive against other border cities

Average asking rent stood near $8.04 USD per square foot per year toward the end of 2025, a figure that has held relatively steady quarter over quarter and remains competitive against Tijuana or Reynosa. Juárez continues to be one of the lowest-cost options per square foot along the northern corridor, even with the recent vacancy adjustment.

What's driving the shift

  • New supply. Developers built aggressively during the nearshoring boom, and much of that inventory hit the market just as demand began to cool.
  • Infrastructure constraints. Access to medium-voltage power and water has become a real limiting factor, especially for advanced manufacturing that requires dedicated substations.
  • A shift toward higher-value manufacturing. Between 2019 and 2024, employment in computer and electronics manufacturing grew 238%, while medical device manufacturing jobs grew 41%, with that industry alone exporting $4.04 billion from Juárez in 2024.
  • Trade uncertainty. The 2026 USMCA review has led several manufacturers to pause expansion decisions while they wait for more clarity.

What this means if you're leasing

A market with more vacancy is, in practice, a market with more options and more room to negotiate term length, tenant improvements, and rental terms. Older buildings are absorbing most of the adjustment; Class A space with a dedicated electrical substation still sees solid demand.

What this means if you're investing or developing

Location alone is no longer enough. The assets getting absorbed first are the ones that solve the tenant's infrastructure problem –guaranteed power capacity, natural gas, fiber– before the tenant has to solve it themselves.

At a glance

  • More vacancy = more negotiating leverage for tenants
  • Average rent remains competitive vs. other border cities
  • Electrical infrastructure decides which buildings lease first
  • The sector is shifting toward higher-value manufacturing