CHICAGO-While vacancy andabsorption was solid in the first half of 2010, and leasingincreased, researchers at Jones Lang LaSalle say that nationalindustrial activity will slow to a crawl during the next 12 months.Low job growth, rent and consumer confidence will keep theindustrial markets flat, the company said in its recent IndustrialOutlook report.

Craig Meyer, managing director and head of the company’slogistics and industrial services group, tells GlobeSt.com thatthough there has been positive news, the economy will not reboundin a quick fashion. National average vacancy rates dropped for thefirst time in two years to 10.4%, Meyer says, but absorptionremains at a negative 7.4 million square feet for the first sixmonths.

“We looked at the numbers after the second quarter and saw thisgreat uptick. The flipside, however, is that as we head into thethird quarter, we’re not feeling good. Employment is stillproblematic, we’re getting mixed signals about consumer confidence.I’m not saying that we are skidding, or even suggesting adouble-dip recession…I would call it a ‘backing off theaccelerator’,” Meyer says.