Romania's industrial and logistics landscape: an overview

 

Romania’s industrial and logistics real estate market is rapidly expanding, with the total stock now approaching 8 million square meters. A significant portion, over 60%, is concentrated in projects within a maximum one-hour drive from Bucharest.

 

This highlights the capital's crucial role as the country's primary logistics and industrial hub, even as regions like Moldova and Oltenia, currently less developed, show high potential for catching up with infrastructure improvements.

 

Key regional hubs and concentration

 

The areas surrounding Bucharest, Ploiești, and Pitești collectively host approximately 4.6 million square meters of the national stock, underscoring their importance. Beyond this core, Timișoara, Brașov, and Cluj have solidified their positions as vital regional industrial hubs over the past 18 months, with parks near these cities totaling 1.7 million square meters, accounting for over 20% of the national stock.

 

From a regional distribution perspective, Bucharest – Ilfov leads significantly with 47.4% of the stock. It is followed by the West (15.1%), South – Muntenia (11.4%), Central (9.4%), and North – West (8.8%) regions. In stark contrast, the North – East (2.8%), South – East (1.6%), and South – West Oltenia (3.6%) regions remain considerably less developed.

 

These three regions, representing roughly 40% of Romania's population, cumulatively hold less than 10% of the total logistics and industrial space, indicating a substantial development gap and future growth opportunity.

 

Future developments and construction pipeline

 

The market continues to see robust development, with approximately 440,000 square meters of industrial parks currently under construction. More than 80% of these new developments are located in the vicinity of Bucharest, further solidifying its position.

 

However, other areas are also attracting developer interest, with the North – West, North – East, and West regions planning for 17% of the space to be delivered in 2025, targeting Moldova and Transylvania for expansion.

 

Robust transactional activity and low vacancy rates

 

The period between January 2024 and June 2025 witnessed sustained high transactional activity, with companies contracting nearly 1.4 million square meters of space. During the same timeframe, 764,000 square meters of new spaces were delivered nationwide.

 

The national vacancy rate remained low at 5.8%, signaling a healthy demand-supply balance and presenting attractive development opportunities, especially in underserved areas. Bucharest – Ilfov captured the largest share of demand over the last 18 months, accounting for 62% of leasing transactions, followed by the West with 16% and the North-West with 8% of the transacted area.

 

Key market players and demand drivers

 

The industrial and logistics market is dominated by major players such as CTP and WDP, whose combined portfolios total around 5 million square meters, representing nearly two-thirds of the market.

 

Other active developers making significant investments across the country include VGP, ELI Parks, Logicor, and Oresa Industra. The market has also seen new entrants like Garbe, Hillwood, and Lion’s Head securing land for future industrial parks, indicating strong confidence in Romania's growth trajectory.

 

According to Ștefan Surcel, Head of Industrial at Cushman & Wakefield Echinox, the demand for logistics and industrial spaces is primarily fueled by the expansion of tenants in the retail, e-commerce, and manufacturing sectors. This trend is clearly demonstrated by the fact that the ten largest industrial space transactions over the past 18 months were all executed by companies from these dynamic industries.

 

Source: forbes.ro