Dodge Data & Analytics, New York, has reported construction starts fell 13.2% in February after rising 0.7% in January.
Nonresidential building construction rose 17.8% in February as commercial starts increased 48.5% and institutional starts climbed 8.7%. Manufacturing starts plunged 54.1%.
Residential building construction rose 8.3% in February. Single-family housing increased 4%, and multifamily starts grew 15.9%.
Nonbuilding construction fell 49.4% in February.
For the 12 months ending February, total construction starts were up 5.2% compared with the 12 months ending February 2025. Nonbuilding construction rose 17%; nonresidential building climbed 6.1%; and residential building fell 6.3%.
“After a weak start to the year, nonresidential and residential building starts steadily rebounded throughout February,” said Sarah Martin, associate director of forecast at Dodge Construction Network. “Conversely, nonbuilding activity slowed down last month—normalizing from elevated levels in January.”
