KEY POINTS
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Total US Nonresidential Construction Starts — the combined value of Nonresidential Building and Civil Construction projects breaking ground — fell to $63.4 billion in September, down $48.8 billion.
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September's 43.5% pullback is from a record $112.1 billion in August.
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Year-to-date (January through September), Total Nonresidential Construction Starts totaled $757.9 billion, up 26.2% from 2025.
Total Starts Fall After August Megaproject Surge
Total US Nonresidential Construction Starts — the combined value of Nonresidential Building and Civil Construction projects breaking ground — fell to $63.4 billion in September, down $48.8 billion, or 43.5%, from August’s record $112.1 billion.
Year-to-date (January through September), TotalNonresidential Construction Starts totaled $757.9 billion, up 26.2% from 2025.
Shown in an image, September 2026 Total Nonresidential Construction Starts — the sum of Nonresidential Building and Civil Construction — were $63.4 billion, down $48.8 billion from August, the highest month on record. That is $18.2 billion below the trailing 12-month average of $81.6 billion. Image: ConstructConnect Construction Economy Snapshot
Nonresidential Building Gains Remain Concentrated
Nonresidential Building (NRB) — buildings such as retail stores, data centers, factories and hospitals — totaled $38.6 billion, down 50.3% from August. Year to date (YTD), NRB starts stand at $500.2 billion, up 34.7%, or $128.9 billion.
Offices, including Data Centers, have supplied 72% of that gain and are up 173.0% in the year through September. This gain came despite a weak September for data center megaprojects — those projects costing $1 billion or more — which totaled just $6.3 billion across four projects, far less than August’s $13.5 billion reading.
Several other categories have seen large YTD moves, including:
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Industrial Labs which at $9.0 billion through September is up 90.1% or $4.3 billion. Much of this gain resulted from Eli Lilly’s $3.5 billion Pennsylvania drug plant started in September.
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Prisons at $8.5 billion for the calendar year are up 142.1% thanks to a prior May surge of $3 billion.
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Military at $10.5 billion for the year remains up 53.4% from an increase in projects under $1 billion.
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Parking Garages and Nursing Homes both remain more than 50% above YTD levels as a result of prior months of elevated starts spending, almost all of which was in projects under $1 billion.
Michael Guckes, Chief Economist, ConstructConnect
Civil Construction Growth Centers on Power Infrastructure
Civil Construction (Heavy Engineering) — infrastructure such as Roads, Bridges and Water Systems — totaled $24.7 billion, down 28.1% from August.
Year to date, Civil starts total $257.7 billion, up 12.4%.
Power Infrastructure, which includes Power Lines, Power Generation, and Substations, accounts for 68% of all Civil construction gains this year. Its current total of $30.7 billion is well above last year’s comparable period spending of $11.7 billion.
Among the largest projects lifting the subcategory are an earlier $13 billion Commonwealth liquefied natural gas export terminal, and two September projects including a $4.0 billion North Dakota power plant and a $1.6 billion Texas substation.
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