DAYTON, OH—Manufacturing continues to be a bright spot in several Midwest cities, including Dayton, OH. The Dayton industrial market here hit another milestone in the first quarter, recording its 12th consecutive quarterly vacancy rate reduction, according to a recent market report by Cushman & Wakefield. Now standing at just 8.72%, down from last quarter's 9.11%, the industrial vacancy rate has fallen around 600 bps since the end of 2013, the firm found. Absorption was quite strong in the first quarter, thanks to expansions of both established and new users. Six expansion projects accounted for 441,000 square feet of absorption, a first quarter record “for at least the past five years, and a significant reversal from last year's terrible start that saw negative 33,000 square feet of absorption in the first quarter.” According to C&W, the largest take down of space was by German auto parts manufacturer Mahle Behr Service America LLC , which last year acquired the remnants of local giant Delphi Automotive , and just moved into 166,000 square feet of the former 575,000 square foot Supervalu distribution center, in suburban Xenia. The center closed in 2012, and its partial filling is a good example of how the revival of the auto industry has impacted many cities in the Midwest. Mahle Behr Dayton will use the location as a distribution center for products made at its Webster St. campus, where it employs 1,300. “Unlike previous quarters, the majority of the Q1 absorption did not involve newly-completed construction,” C&W adds. Only 65,000 square feet of new space was delivered, but another 661,000 is under construction, “all of it in freestanding buildings and most in the north and upper north parts of the region.” DAYTON, OH—Manufacturing continues to be a bright spot in several Midwest cities, including Dayton, OH. The Dayton industrial market here hit another milestone in the first quarter, recording its 12th consecutive quarterly vacancy rate reduction, according to a recent market report by Cushman & Wakefield. Now standing at just 8.72%, down from last quarter's 9.11%, the industrial vacancy rate has fallen around 600 bps since the end of 2013, the firm found. Absorption was quite strong in the first quarter, thanks to expansions of both established and new users. Six expansion projects accounted for 441,000 square feet of absorption, a first quarter record “for at least the past five years, and a significant reversal from last year's terrible start that saw negative 33,000 square feet of absorption in the first quarter.” According to C&W, the largest take down of space was by German auto parts manufacturer Mahle Behr Service America LLC , which last year acquired the remnants of local giant Delphi Automotive , and just moved into 166,000 square feet of the former 575,000 square foot Supervalu distribution center, in suburban Xenia. The center closed in 2012, and its partial filling is a good example of how the revival of the auto industry has impacted many cities in the Midwest. Mahle Behr Dayton will use the location as a distribution center for products made at its Webster St. campus, where it employs 1,300. “Unlike previous quarters, the majority of the Q1 absorption did not involve newly-completed construction,” C&W adds. Only 65,000 square feet of new space was delivered, but another 661,000 is under construction, “all of it in freestanding buildings and most in the north and upper north parts of the region.”