Manufacturing is gaining ground in Romania's industrial and logistics market, with approximately 28% of publicly announced leasing transactions in the first half of 2026 involving manufacturing space, almost double the previous year's share and well above the typical 10-15% range, according to Colliers. Around two-thirds of demand came from new leases or relocations. Overall, publicly announced transactions reached approximately 340,000 sqm, around 20% below the level recorded in the first half of last year, but 47% above the average for the same period in 2017-2019.
"Despite the current geopolitical and economic backdrop, which is far from favourable, the market's performance points more to a return to a normal pace following the record year of 2025 than to any fundamental weakening," said Victor Coșconel, Partner and Head of Leasing for Office and Industrial Agencies at Colliers. "Manufacturing is gaining increasing traction, we are seeing recurring requirements that were simply not present a few years ago, as well as growing interest from Asian manufacturers, particularly Chinese companies, which are assessing Romania as a nearshoring base for the European market."
Relevant transactions in the period included Iron Mountain's 28,000 sqm lease renewal in Bucharest, Autonet's 26,000 sqm renewal also in Bucharest, a new 15,000 sqm lease signed by Siemens for a factory in Sibiu, and two new manufacturing facilities of more than 20,000 sqm each, one near Bucharest and the other in Ploiești. Colliers data show that for every euro spent on labour in transportation and storage, Romania generates approximately €2.7 in added value, compared with around €1.7 across the European Union. In July 2026, none of the Romanian companies surveyed by the European Commission in the warehousing and transport support activities sector cited a lack of workers as a limiting factor, compared with 21% in the euro area, 49% in Poland and 38% in Hungary. Infrastructure is also playing a growing role: Romania had more than 1,400 kilometres of high-speed roads at the start of 2026, up from around 900 kilometres before the pandemic, with over 1,000 kilometres under construction.
Modern industrial and logistics stock reached almost 8.3 million sqm by mid-year, with a further approximately 500,000 sqm expected over the next two to three quarters. CTP and WDP remain the market leaders, while VGP, Element Industrial, Logicor and Industra Parks are accelerating their pipelines, and Lion's Head, Garbe Industrial/Fortress and Hillwood are preparing their first local projects. For a well-located warehouse of approximately 5,000 sqm on a five-to-seven-year lease, rents in the Bucharest area stand at around €4.5-5 per sqm per month, with some transactions falling towards €4 per sqm per month or below.
"In the short term, companies remain cautious and are postponing some decisions because of the weaker economy, fiscal adjustments, political uncertainty and the challenging external environment," said Coșconel. "Market fundamentals remain solid: infrastructure is improving, the relationship between labour costs and productivity remains highly competitive, and Romania still has less logistics space per capita than other markets in the region. Against this backdrop, reaching a stock of 12-14 million square metres appears to be more a question of when than if."
