Nonresidential construction spending climbed 0.7% in August and is up 0.5% compared with August 2025, according to Associated Builders and Contractors.
For public construction, spending was up 0.2% for the month and is up 2.7% year to date. Private nonresidential spending increased 1% in August and is down 1% year to date. Spending was up for the month in 11 of the 16 nonresidential subcategories.
“Nonresidential construction spending increased for the fifth consecutive month in August as data center investment accelerates,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Frankly, it’s becoming difficult to contextualize the size and speed of this boom. Data center construction spending leapt another 7.5% in August and is now up more than 73% over the past 12 months. The increases have been particularly large over the past four months, with data center spending increasing at an incredible 149% annualized pace since March.
“While momentum remains particularly concentrated in the data center segment, several other segments posted surprisingly strong spending growth in August,” Basu continued. “Manufacturing construction activity, for instance, expanded on a monthly basis for the first time since January, while several public categories grew at a steady, albeit unspectacular, pace.”
Basu said momentum “will likely remain confined to the data center and power categories in the months to come.”
“Materials and labor cost escalation have reemerged during the second half of 2026, and the recent surge in Treasury yields will continue to put upward pressure on borrowing costs,” Basu said. “ABC members remain optimistic about the sales outlook, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, yet those sales will increasingly be in a narrow subset of construction categories.”
