The Daily Dig
Total construction starts jumped 25.6% in July, hitting a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.79 trillion, according to Dodge Construction Network. Twenty five projects worth $1 billion or more broke ground during the month, and Dodge points to that wave of megaprojects as a major driver of the increase. Dodge Chief Economist Eric Gaus called the result a disjointed market, with real strength in specific pockets while other segments continue to struggle. Nonresidential building led the way with a 57.7% monthly gain, residential rose 4.9%, and nonbuilding edged up 2.2%.
The nonresidential surge was largely an office and data center story. That category more than doubled in July, up 107.9% month over month. Manufacturing construction jumped 277.8%, continuing a volatile run for that sector, with the $12.0 billion Micron semiconductor fab in Clay, New York among the projects that broke ground during the month. Warehouse starts rose just 1.0%, essentially flat. Several categories moved the other direction entirely. Hotels fell 51.5%, parking garages dropped 19.4%, retail stores declined 9.5%, and healthcare facilities fell another 59.7% after already posting losses the month before.
Nonbuilding starts inched up 2.2% for the month, but that modest headline number hides a split market underneath it. Highway and bridge starts fell 16.9%, environmental public works dropped 7.8%, and miscellaneous nonbuilding slipped 5.3%. Utilities were the clear exception, jumping 44.7% in July and now up 94.1% year to date.
Residential starts rose 4.9% for the month, with single family up 4.3% and multifamily up 5.7%. Over the trailing 12 months, single family starts are down 11.1% while multifamily is up 13.0%. Regionally, the Northeast posted the largest monthly gain at 117.7%, followed by the West at 61.4% and the South Atlantic at 28.7%. The Midwest fell 24.6% and South Central dropped 9.3%.
Snapshot:
Total Construction Starts (July, SAAR): $1.79 trillion
Monthly Change: +25.6%
Year to Date Change: +16.9%
12 Month Change (ending July 2026 vs. July 2025): +14.4%
Nonresidential Building Starts: $917 billion SAAR, +57.7% m/m
Nonbuilding Starts: $485 billion SAAR, +2.2% m/m
Residential Starts: $386 billion SAAR, +4.9% m/m
Billion Dollar Plus Projects Breaking Ground: 25
Largest Nonresidential Project: Project Jupiter Data Center and Microgrid Phase 1 (data center portion), $12.8 billion, Santa Teresa, New Mexico
Second Largest Nonresidential Project: Micron Semiconductor Mega Factory Fab 1, Phase 1, $12.0 billion, Clay, New York
Third Largest Nonresidential Project: Amazon STACK Highway 3 Data Center, $4.0 billion, Benton, Louisiana
Largest Nonbuilding Project: CHSRA New Track and Systems (Two Sections), $2.4 billion, Bakersfield, California
Largest Multifamily Project: NY Vue-Harbor Station South Residential Tower/Retail, $535 million, Bayonne, New Jersey
Strongest Region (m/m): Northeast, +117.7%
Weakest Region (m/m): Midwest, -24.6%
Source: Dodge Construction Network
TheJobWalk Thoughts
Healthcare's second straight month of decline is worth real attention if that scope is part of your backlog. The source confirms July followed an already negative month, which is enough to treat this as a pattern rather than a one off dip worth waiting out.
Hotels and retail also fell hard in July, but the source only gives one month of data for either category. Treat that as a signal to watch, not a trend to build a strategy around yet.
Utilities starts are up 94.1% year to date, the strongest growth rate of any category reported in this release. For electrical and heavy civil contractors, that is a scope worth chasing regardless of what happens elsewhere in the nonbuilding numbers this year.
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