Nonresidential construction spending decreased 0.2% in March and is up 0.2% compared with March 2025, according to Associated Builders and Contractors.
For public construction, spending was down 0.2% for the month and is up 3.7% year to date. Private nonresidential spending decreased 0.2% in March and 2.1% year to date. Spending was down for the month in nine of the 16 nonresidential subcategories.
“Nonresidential construction spending contracted yet again in March,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “While a large portion of the ongoing decline is due to steadily falling manufacturing-related construction activity, weakness is becoming more widespread. Both public and private sector activity fell in March, and the latter is now down more than 2% on a year-over-year basis. With the exception of the ongoing boom in data center construction (+34.3% year over year), there are few sources of momentum. Despite this ongoing weakness, however, contractors remain optimistic about the outlook, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index.”
