It’s looking like the industrial shift toward the Northern Emirates was cemented further last year, as the supply crunch in Dubai and Abu Dhabi continues to worsen and other emirates grow their hospitality and manufacturing sectors, requiring more industrial and logistics space for support.

REMEMBER- The first half of last year saw displacement drive a 40% rise in local industrial rents in the Northern Emirates, rapidly eroding the cost advantage that initially attracted occupiers. A new report (pdf) by Knight Frank says that this trend remained the reality for much of the year.

Case in point: In core hubs like Al Quoz, the absence of available stock has pushed Grade A rents to a record AED 100 per sq ft. “Most central places in Dubai are operating at occupancy levels above 95%,” says Knight Frank’s Adam Wynne. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi’s Kezad alone saw 97% occupancy, while Abu Dhabi Airport Freezone has the highest rents in the emirate at AED 625 per sqm, the report adds.

Who’s left behind? As higher-margin, tech-driven industries take over Dubai’s remaining industrial land, SMEs and manufacturers are being relocated north into Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain.

The shift has also triggered a sharp regional repricing. In Sharjah, industrial real estate transactions nearly doubled to AED 9.24 bn in 2025, as the emirate shifts from an overflow market to a primary industrial hub. The spillover has also been evident in Umm Al Quwain, where industrial rents have risen to AED 40 per sq ft from around AED 25.

The question: Is the shift north sustainable, or is it merely a temporary and circumstantial trend?

The shift toward Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain appears to be more of a “permanent change” than a “stopgap,” according to Wynne. “The Northern Emirates are no longer viewed as low-cost spillover markets — businesses are increasingly relocating there to support new hospitality and industrial developments,” he explained. This comes as over the past year, 10 industrial and logistics contracts were awarded in Ras Al Khaimah alone, with a total value of USD 547 mn, he said.

Infrastructure will support the shift: By 2026, the national rail network will be fully operational for freight, effectively turning the UAE into a single, continuous industrial corridor. “Over the next 14-18 months, we expect increased traction from the rail network as it becomes more widely utilized and continues to expand across the UAE,” Wynne noted.

As does the delivery outlook in Dubai: Of the 6.6 mn sq ft of industrial space scheduled for delivery in Dubai in 2026, the vast majority is Grade A — offering limited relief to mid-market manufacturers facing immediate space shortages.

But challenges remain

Across the Northern Emirates, peak power consumption has surged, creating a widening gap between supply and demand. For high-intensity users — like cold storage or heavy manufacturers — rent savings in the North can quickly be erased by the cost of diesel generators or the long lead times for a utility connection. “While identifying properties with sufficient power capacity, without the need for upgrades, can be challenging, it is not impossible. In most cases, companies are not having to rely on private generators, but limited grid capacity does mean power availability is increasingly shaping location decisions in the Northern Emirates,” Wynne tells us.

Our take

The UAE is transitioning to a hub-and-spoke industrial model. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are maturing into a high-end logistics and distribution center increasingly dominated by technology-driven, higher-margin operators. By contrast, the Northern Emirates are emerging as the country’s new engine room for bulk goods, storage, and manufacturing.

And it changed the game for operators: For operators, relocation only makes financial sense if productivity gains from rail connectivity outweigh rising rental baselines and persistent delays in utility connections. Looking ahead, while Dubai will continue to attract premium Grade A facilities, the bulk movement of goods and manufacturing activity is expected to increasingly take place in the Northern Emirates.

And they’re not a cheap exit anymore — they will now price in the same scarcity premium seen in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Institutional investors have already priced in a permanent industrial bottleneck, compressing net yields to around 8% — a clear signal that elevated rents are becoming the new baseline.

The story is about more than just costs though: “While prices have increased in more central locations, some occupiers are willing to absorb year-on-year rental growth if the location delivers time savings and operational efficiencies. In these cases, decisions are often made more holistically rather than based solely on rental cost,” Wynne tells us.

Still, other more affordable alternatives are gaining interest, namely Ras Al Khaimah, especially as “hospitality assets approach handover and the supporting ecosystem continues to develop,” Wynne added.

The outlook is relatively rosy

Despite high demand and occupancy rates, near-term rental conditions across the Northern Emirates are expected to soften as more supply comes to market, Knight Frank says.

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