The Financial Post reports in its Thursday edition that even though a record-breaking 16.3 million square feet of new industrial space was added to the Canadian market in the final quarter of 2023, demand continues to outpace supply, according to Altus Group. The Post's Shantaé Campbell writes that the national availability rate rose to 4.3 per cent, up 0.7 percentage point, with gains across all major markets, Altus found. The record-breaking increase in new industrial space, 62 per cent of which is available, surpassed the average fourth-quarter completions of less than 10 million square feet, yet supply is not catching up with demand, the company said. "Furthermore, tenants continued to be proactive in securing suitable spaces ahead of their lease expiration, and in response, landlords are pre-emptively listing their spaces ahead of their vacancy," Altus said in a report. Altus's Ray Wong said the increase in project completions represents only a minor fraction of what is needed in the industry. "Even though the overall availability rates have increased from the third quarter to the fourth quarter, from 3.6 to 4.3 per cent on a national basis, we have a very tight availability rate for industrial," Mr. Wong said.