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A late-year pick-up in infrastructure construction helped boost that higher innovations in Decemberbut contractors still face a general lack of non-residential growth outside of data center construction, according to the Dodge Construction Network.
Total construction rose 2.6% month-on-month in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.24 trillion. Most of this growth comes from non-building construction, such as highways and bridges, as well as the booming data center sector. Non-residential starts, on the other hand, fell 6.6% month-over-month in December, the report said.
For all of 2025, however, nonresidential construction was on a firmer footing, according to Dodge data. Innovative activity increased by 4.5% during the year, driven by a 10.9% year-on-year jump in commercial projects. Institutional projects, such as health and education, were down 1.9% for all of 2025.
“Nonbuilding construction, along with data centers, was the main driver of growth through 2025, supporting a 5.4% expansion in the total dollar value of starts,” said Sarah Martin, associate director of forecasting for the Dodge Construction Network. “In terms of square footage, however, construction starts declined by 4.7% along with weaker residential, manufacturing and institutional activity.”
December’s decline in non-residential starts, which include commercial and institutional projects, came mainly from a 30.8% month-over-month decline. drop in manufacturing innovations and an 18.2% month-on-month drop in educational projects. On a positive note, other business segments fared much better in December; Hotel starts, for example, were up 74.4% month-on-month.
Here are the biggest projects to start in December, according to Dodge:
- The $3.5 billion Port Authority Midtown Bus Terminal in New York City.
- The $1.6 billion Entergy Legend Power Plant in Port Arthur, Texas.
- The $1.5 billion LAX Airport Roadway improvements in Los Angeles.
- Google’s billion dollar data center in West Memphis, Arkansas.
- The $750 million CyrusOne data center in Whitney, Texas.
- The $714 million SNA data center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
- The $502 million Launiu Ward Village Condominiums in Honolulu.
- The $500 million alloy block residential tower in Boerum Hill, New York.
- The $272 million SDSU Mission Valley residential building in San Diego.
Not buildable Construction, which includes infrastructure projects, posted the strongest growth in December, the report said. Construction starts rose 16.3% month-on-month in December, led by an 85.2% month-on-month increase in highway and bridge construction.
For the full year, nonbuilding construction starts were up 18.7% compared to 2024, according to Dodge.
Residential construction posted growth for the second consecutive month in December, with starts up 1% month-on-month to close out the year. Single-family starts declined 4.5% month over month in December, although multifamily starts rose 10.2% for the month, the data showed.
In 2025, residential construction as a whole followed the pace of 2024 by 4.8%. Single-family homes caused this decline, with a 13.2% drop during the year. Multi-family construction, on the other hand, increased by 13.1% throughout the year 2025.
