KEY POINTS
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The ConstructConnect Expansion Index for April 2026 reached 1.25, reflecting a 25% increase in ideated construction investment compared to the same month in 2025.
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This milestone marks nine consecutive months of growth, with April achieving the highest reading in this sustained expansion streak.
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While significant expansion remains concentrated, April’s Expansion Index reading of 1.25 marks the strongest point in the nine-month expansion streak, with growth spanning a wider range of geographies and categories than in previous months.
Overall Performance
The ConstructConnect Expansion Index for reached 1.25, reflecting a 25% increase in ideated construction investment compared to the same month in 2025.
Note: Ideated means any and all projects in some stage of preconstruction. This includes projects whose groundbreaking date may be many years in the future. All such future projects have no guarantee to either achieving a groundbreaking nor reaching to construction completion.
The ConstructConnect Expansion Index reading for April 2026 reached 1.25, reflecting a 25% increase in ideated construction investment compared to the same month in 2025. This milestone marks nine consecutive months of growth, with April achieving the highest reading in this sustained expansion streak. Image and Data: ConstructConnect
Select Sector Analysis
April’s expansion was notably broader than in previous months, with growth observed in eight out of ten construction verticals. Industrial and Commercial construction once again drove national expansion, posting impressive readings of 2.15 and 1.63, respectively.
Government was the only other category to achieve double-digit growth, recording a 1.17, while the remaining five expanding verticals saw more modest increases.
Meanwhile, Residential and Medical construction continued their trend of contraction, with declines compared to April 2025. Both verticals have now faced several consecutive months of contraction. However, it’s worth noting that in April’s total, the contractions in these categories were less than 10%.
A chart of the Expansion Index by Subcategory is shown. Image and Data: ConstructConnect
Geographic Highlights
In April, 23 states recorded significant expansion of 10% or more in ideated project spending. North Dakota led the nation with the highest Expansion Index reading, fueled by growth in civil and infrastructure spending in the Fargo metropolitan statistical area.
Arizona and Montana followed closely, maintaining their strong multi-month performance driven by Industrial and Commercial construction. Missouri also posted robust growth, continuing its ongoing trend of expansion in recent months.
On the other hand, eight states experienced contractions of 10% or more in planned investment dollars. Hawaii, Illinois, Nebraska, and Vermont saw the steepest declines, reflecting a marked drop in ideated construction spending compared to April 2025.
Note: High Expansion Index readings reflect growth in ideated investment dollars rather than project count, meaning a single large project can significantly impact a state's index, particularly if the state has a smaller construction market.
What It Means for Construction
April’s Expansion Index reading of 1.25 marks the strongest point in the nine-month expansion streak, with growth spanning a wider range of geographies and categories than in previous months.
A total of eight out of ten construction verticals and 34 states recorded expansionary readings, signaling that ideated growth is reaching more areas of the industry.
However, significant expansion remains concentrated, with only three verticals and 23 states achieving growth of 10% or more in ideated investment.
This means firms looking to capitalize on the current pipeline will need to be selective, identifying the specific geographies and construction categories where planned investment is heading to position themselves for the potential opportunities this run of expansion may bring.
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