KING OF PRUSSIA, PA-Thanks to no new product coming to market in the last three months, the industrial vacancy rate for the I-81/78 corridor dropped to 8.2% at the end of the second quarter, according to Newmark Grubb Knight Frank.

The brokerage firm reports that the second quarter vacancy is the lowest rate since well before the start of the recession. Despite the lack of new product, the construction pipeline for industrial space in the corridor actually grew by more than 570,000 square feet during the April to June period.

REITs were major players in the capital markets in the I-81/78 corridor, constituting more than half of the buying activity in the second quarter.

Looking forward, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank's report states that improving consumer confidence and relatively low fuel costs will continue to attract demand for warehouse space along the I-81/78 corridor. “With no indication that tax increases, rising interest rates or sequester spending cuts will put the brakes on the economy, the steady march of economic improvement will continue to translate into strengthening fundamentals for this market,” the report states.