Nonresidential construction spending decreased 0.6% in December 2025 and is up 0.3% compared with December 2024, according to Associated Builders and Contractors.
For public construction, spending was down 0.4% for the month and is up 3.4% year to date. Private nonresidential spending decreased 0.7% in December 2025 and is down 1.8% year to date. Spending was down for the month in 12 of the 16 nonresidential subcategories.
“Nonresidential construction spending contracted sharply in December,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “This decline was concentrated in the manufacturing segment, which is now down nearly 16% from the August 2024 all-time high. Given trade policy uncertainty and the waning effects of the CHIPS Act, manufacturing-related spending will likely continue to decline over the next several quarters.
“While manufacturing is the most significant driver of nonresidential weakness, it’s far from the only one,” Basu continues. “Eight of the 11 private nonresidential subsegments contracted in December, and total private nonresidential spending is now down 1.8% year over year. Given this weakness, it is unsurprising that ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator fell to a four-year low in January.”
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