Nonresidential construction spending climbed 0.6% in September and is up 1.8% compared with September 2025, according to Associated Builders and Contractors.
For public construction, spending was down 0.1% for the month and is up 1.1% year to date. Private nonresidential spending increased 1.1% in September and is up 2.3% year to date. Spending was up for the month in eight of the 16 nonresidential subcategories.
“Nonresidential construction spending grew for the sixth consecutive month in September,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “As has been the case for several months, data centers accounted for virtually all of that increase. Excluding data centers and the closely related power category, nonresidential spending actually fell in September. It’s increasingly difficult to contextualize the speed of the data center boom; spending in the category jumped another 8.6% in September and has grown at a 217% annualized rate since May.
“Given the recent rise in treasury yields and ongoing materials price escalation, momentum will remain narrowly concentrated in artificial intelligence-related segments over the next several months,” Basu continued. “While contractors remain busy in the aggregate, according to ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator, current market dynamics will continue to favor larger contractors who are far more likely to be involved in data center and power projects.”
