CHICAGO—The vacancy rate among the Chicago region's big box distribution buildings increased by 52 bps during the first quarter of 2017, the second quarter in a row with an uptick, according to Colliers International's latest report on the sector. But the increase had more to do with the fast pace of new development, rather than a significant slowdown in leasing activity.

“People won't be particularly surprised by this increase in vacancy, because there has been a lot of speculative big box development,” Craig Hurvitz, vice president of Colliers, tells GlobeSt.com. Two such facilities totaling 1.2 million square feet were completed during the first quarter of 2017.

Net absorption was positive between January and March, totaling 1.8 million square feet, Colliers found. That's way off the total from last year's first quarter, when tenants absorbed more than 4.1 million square feet. But in 2016, Amazon was absorbing millions of square feet in the Chicago region. And even though the e-commerce giant probably won't significantly expand this year, other tenants will take up some of the slack.