Are we building industrial properties in the right places? Expansion in São Paulo meets congested highways
- Occupancy rises in logistics hubs across São Paulo and Minas Gerais, but access problems raise questions about development locations
Industrial properties are increasingly occupied, but goods face obstacles along the way. In São Paulo, the share of space available for lease fell to 5.11% in the second quarter of 2026, according to SiiLA’s Market Analytics. Meanwhile, the National Logistics Plan 2050 (PNL) identifies congestion on highways connecting major hubs across the state. Together, the two studies raise the question: are we building properties in the right places?
Published in August, the PNL shows that 51% of road freight activity involving manufactured goods, steel products, and pulp and paper originating in São Paulo takes place on congested roads. The calculation accounts for cargo weight and distance traveled, rather than the number of trucks.
The assessment highlights connections between São Paulo, Campinas, Sorocaba and São José dos Campos, citing the Anhanguera, Bandeirantes, Castello Branco and Dutra highways. According to the plan, some of the main problems occur precisely along shorter routes between production hubs and the São Paulo metropolitan area.
For Felipe Cunha, director of logistics acquisitions, proximity to a highway alone does not make a location suitable. The assessment includes the condition of access roads, interchange capacity, truck traffic restrictions, and the availability of alternative routes.
“We have passed on sites because of access issues. Some sites are very attractive from a real estate perspective — price, topography, zoning, and available space — but no longer make sense when we assess truck traffic and the time needed to enter and leave the property. For us, poor access can make an otherwise excellent site unviable,” he says.
Higher occupancy, less available space
Demand for industrial properties remains strong in these regions. Across São Paulo’s logistics parks, the vacancy rate fell from 7.03% in the first quarter to 5.11% in the second. Net absorption during the period totaled 498,800 sqm.
Cajamar and Guarulhos accounted for 320,000 sqm of that total, or 64.1% of the statewide figure. Both regions also saw new developments delivered: Zolver Bandeirantes, with 125,100 sqm in Cajamar, and KSM Log Guarulhos I, with 63,100 sqm.
Even with these deliveries, the share of vacant space declined. In Cajamar, it fell from 7.52% to 6.86%; in Guarulhos, from 5.56% to 1.20%. Total inventory in the two regions reached 3.24 million and 2.84 million sqm, respectively.
Availability is also limited in other hubs. Campinas ended the quarter with a vacancy rate of 3.93%, Jundiaí with 4.23% and Sorocaba with 2.04%. In the Paraíba Valley, the properties tracked were fully occupied.
These figures show that companies are seeking and taking up space. The question is how road conditions affect their operations: proximity to customers and suppliers remains an advantage, but how much of that advantage is lost to congestion?
The PNL also identifies difficulties in connecting roads, railways and ports. Santos is among the ports cited for access problems and poor connections between different modes of transportation.
One possibility presented in the plan is to shift some storage and import and export procedures to inland facilities, such as dry ports and bonded logistics centers. This could ease pressure on ports and airports. According to Brazilian Federal Revenue Service data cited in the document, around 60% of active dry ports are in the Southeast.
In other regions, the problem includes a shortage of space to receive and store goods, as well as a lack of industrial properties. This is the case along access routes to river transport terminals in Miritituba, Manaus and Porto Velho, highlighted in the report.
Minas Gerais faces similar challenges
Industrial properties availability is also tight in Minas Gerais. Vacancy fell from 1.81% to 1.34% between the first and second quarters of 2026. Net absorption totaled approximately 23,000 sqm, with no new space delivered during the period. The assets tracked in Extrema, Pouso Alegre and Varginha were fully occupied.
On the roads, however, the PNL identifies challenges. The BR-381 highway, which passes through Pouso Alegre and connects Belo Horizonte to São Paulo, is heavily congested. The plan also highlights critical stretches of BR-381 and BR-262 along the route between Ipatinga and the Minas Gerais state capital.
Rail freight also faces obstacles. The document cites reports of bottlenecks where the MRS rail network enters the São Paulo metropolitan area, where tracks are shared with passenger services.
In Cunha’s view, concentrating warehouses along the main corridors serving consumer markets and distribution networks makes sense. The mismatch arises when development outpaces access capacity.
“The problem is that, in some regions, real estate and logistics development has advanced faster than the infrastructure needed to support it,” he says. According to Cunha, adding warehouses without upgrading interchanges, frontage roads, and local roads can erode the advantage that initially attracted companies to those locations.
The executive also believes Brazil’s tax reform could reshape the distribution center map, reducing the influence of tax incentives on location decisions and giving greater weight to proximity to consumers, transportation costs, and delivery times.
In his view, this scenario calls for closer coordination between urban planning, infrastructure, and real estate development. “Ultimately, the best site is not necessarily the cheapest, the one offering the largest tax incentive, or the closest to a highway, but the one that will allow the tenant to operate efficiently over the next ten or fifteen years.”
