U.S. nonresidential construction spending set multiple records in June 2026, including a first-time milestone of more than $100 billion in monthly spending. Nonresidential Building also reached a record $65.5 billion, up 5% from the previous record set in January, according to ConstructConnect’s August 2026 Construction Economy Brief.
In the monthly video series, ConstructConnect Chief Economist Michael Guckes looks past the top-line numbers and points to major shifts inside the data. One big driver is the Offices category, where data centers accounted for 80% of the $23.5 billion total. Offices also represented one-quarter of all nonresidential spending and more than one-third of Nonresidential Building spending, making that mix important for anyone trying to forecast work ahead.
The brief also highlights record or near-record performance in categories that many trade contractors watch closely, including Warehouses, Schools, Parking garages, Military construction, and Roads. At the same time, the picture is not uniformly positive. Guckes notes that Nonresidential Building activity swung from 14.4% growth at the end of the first quarter to a 6.2% contraction by midyear, and he flags weakness in Manufacturing, Sports and Convention Centers, and other subcategories.
For mason contractors, the takeaway is straightforward: don’t build your plan off one headline number. If your estimating strategy includes offices, it’s worth separating true office work from data center-driven spending. If you’re chasing public or institutional work, keep a close eye on the categories showing strength, and verify what is actually moving to bid in your footprint. When the market is uneven, tighter bid prioritization, clearer backlog assumptions, and faster preconstruction decisions can make the difference.
Read the full, original article from ConstructConnect News here.