AUSTIN–The local industrial market saw thehighest level of year-to-date negative net absorption since 2009,but at the same time the city saw the largest rental rate increasesince 2011, according to the latest MarketView report fromCBRE.

“Two straight quarters of negative absorption might lead you tobelieve the Austin industrial market is headed in the wrongdirection,” Ace Schlameus, first vice presidentfor CBRE, tells GlobeSt.com. “However, the numerous positivetrends are overshadowed by a few large departures. For example,Dell, one of the largest employers in the private sector, vacatedits largest Austin-based manufacturing facility of approximately300,000 square feet on Howard Lane, which I consider net zeroabsorption for the market year-to-date.”

During Q2, Austin reported 109,469 square feet of negative netabsorption, making it the second quarter in a row that the city hasseen negative net absorption numbers. The year total is now anegative 293,813 square feet, while the vacancy rate is 11.6%.