BALTIMORE-Industrial activity in theBWI Corridor slowed in recent months as companiesare sitting back to see the result of the presidential election. Still, enoughdeals transacted during the period for the Baltimore region to onlysee a slight uptick in its third-quarter industrial vacancy rate,to 10.5% from 10.4%, according tothe CBRE Group. “Uncertainty over the 2012 federalbudget continues to drag on the Baltimore market,” saidChip Olsen, senior managing director for CBRE’sBaltimore office, in a prepared statement. “Steady leasing activityand a limited supply of available properties means landlord askingrates and abatement and concession packages are stabilizing,” hecontinued, noting that at the same time “users are also holdingonto their cash longer and some are entering short-term agreementswith termination options – a trend that’s likely to continue untilafter Election Day.”

All together, there was an overall net absorption for the marketof negative 138,469 square feet. Some 556,801square feet returned to the submarket due to significant move-outsand downsizes from Giant Food, Mohawk and Simpson Tile. However,the Harford/Cecil County submarket posted 632,366square feet of net new growth due to move-ins and expansions.

The submarket’s saving grace is the lack of supply--no newbuildings have delivered now for six consecutive quarters--and anincrease in the number of large warehouse users in the market. Atthe same time, it is clear that the Baltimore industrial market hadits share of struggles this compare. Compare its Q3 performancewith numbers that it posted in Q1: it saw nearly 900,000-squarefeet of positive net absorption and vacancy rates were on a steadydownward clip reaching 10.9% from 11.5% at the end of 2011.