“Looking to the future, we see strong long-term demand ahead of Amrize. As interest rates decline, we expect pent-up demand to unwind and construction activity to accelerate in both the commercial and the residential sectors. Megatrends, including infrastructure, modernization, onshoring of manufacturing, data center expansion and the need to bridge the housing gap will drive our long-term growth.”
Jan Jenisch, Amrize
“Overall, nonresidential construction is expected to strengthen in 2027, led primarily by data center and health care projects. Other nonresidential sectors are more likely to face softer demand and heightened macroeconomic risks.”
Sarah Martin, Dodge Construction Network
“A lack of megaproject activity contributed to a weak November for construction starts. There were only two structures over a billion dollars. Looking through the noise of the last two months, the trajectory of the last half of 2025 has been much better than the first half.”
Eric Gaus, Dodge Construction Network
“The latest data on employment by metro area shows how spotty construction activity has become. Although a few project types, such as data centers, power and certain infrastructure and manufacturing plants are booming, many metro areas are experiencing a drop in activity.”
Ken Simonson, Associated General Contractors of America
“Demand for new data centers is enough to boost construction employment in many parts of the country. If federal officials can speed up too-lengthy reviews and provide greater tariff certainty, they will help boost construction employment for other needed projects.”
Jeffrey Shoaf, Associated General Contractors of America
“The situation in the U.S. on the interest rate side is volatile. There [are] discussions going on. The good news is that the turning point seems to be reached. The interest rates are coming down. But remember, there is an interest rate and there is a mortgage rate – and there are historical hurdle rates where the mortgage rates need to sit at certain levels when you then see things coming back. Pent-up demand is absolutely there. But I think some additional movement down on the mortgage rate side would still help. … Do we see this Jan. 1? I don’t think so. But throughout 2026, would we see some upside potential on the residential side from today’s viewpoint? Absolutely.”
Dominik von Achten, Heidelberg Materials
“Backlog declined sharply in November and is now at the lowest level since February 2024. The decline was particularly steep for the smallest contractors. ABC (Associated Builders & Contractors) members with under $30 million in annual revenues registered their lowest backlog reading in over four years. Notably, fewer than 6 percent of those smallest contractors are under contract to work on data center projects – well below the 37 percent share for contractors with greater than $100 million in annual revenues.”
Anirban Basu, Associated Builders and Contractors
“Higher building materials costs due to tariffs, higher insurance costs and rising labor costs, along with a shortage of skilled construction workers, are weighing upon the construction industry. On the positive side, a somewhat easier policy stance by the Federal Reserve has resulted in lower interest rates. Further declines in interest rates are likely in 2026.”
Bernard Markstein, Markstein Advisors
