The US construction market is showing initial signs of a diversified recovery, but data centers remain the main engine of growth.

US Construction Market: A Glimmer of Hope Beyond Data Centers

April 2026's US construction economic data brought a touch of optimism to the market. According to multiple indicators, non-residential construction activity is gradually spreading beyond the dominance of data centers. Planning activity improved month-over-month, total starts surged, backlogs reached their highest level in ten months, and industry job vacancies also hit a new high for 2026. However, the foundation of this recovery wave remains far from stable—data center projects are still the biggest driver of planning growth, large contractors almost exclusively capture the increase in backlogs, and private investment areas such as manufacturing remain weak.

Planning and Starts: New Signs Beyond Data Centers

Data from Dodge Construction Network shows that non-residential construction planning activity accelerated in April, reversing the slow start of the first quarter. More noteworthy is the clear diversification of actual project types that broke ground—in previous months, starts were almost concentrated on a few data center and energy mega-projects, while in April, more projects of different types began construction. This signals that investment momentum is penetrating into a broader range of the economy, although the absolute scale remains limited.

Backlogs and Employment: Divergence Between Large Contractors and the Labor Market

The rebound in backlogs was mainly driven by AI-related projects, but growth was highly concentrated among large contractors—especially those holding data center contracts. Small contractors continue to face a shortage of orders. Meanwhile, construction industry job vacancies surged 10.6% month-over-month in April, reaching the highest level of 2026, while the layoff rate fell to a four-year low. This indicates that contractors are striving to retain existing workers, but labor shortages remain a structural bottleneck constraining the industry's full recovery.

Spending Structure and Cost Pressures: Public Infrastructure and AI Lead, Manufacturing Shrinks

Overall non-residential construction spending only increased marginally by 0.1% month-over-month. Among this, data center spending surged 28% year-over-year, with public infrastructure and AI-related projects contributing most of the growth. In contrast, manufacturing construction spending continued to decline—a trend linked to cyclical adjustments in global manufacturing investment and domestic policy uncertainties in the US. On construction material costs, input prices soared sharply month-over-month in April, with particularly pronounced increases for energy and materials sensitive to tariffs. As of the end of April, material price increases since the start of 2026 have already exceeded the cumulative increases of the previous three years. Tariff policies and energy market volatility continue to reshape contractors' cost structures.

Global Perspective: The Significance of Diversification in the US Construction MarketAlthough this article focuses on U.S. data, it reflects deeper trends in global infrastructure investment. The explosive growth of data centers and AI infrastructure epitomizes the global digital infrastructure race, while the resilience of public infrastructure spending benefits from the continued rollout of the U.S. Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. However, the downturn in manufacturing construction highlights the complexity of global supply chain adjustments—long-term investments in areas such as semiconductors and electric vehicle batteries have not been fully reflected in short-term U.S. data, and some production capacity may still be shifting to other regions (e.g., Southeast Asia, Mexico).

Furthermore, the dramatic fluctuations in material costs have global transmission effects. Changes in energy prices and trade policies not only impact the United States but also affect markets in Europe and the Middle East that rely on imported building materials. For international engineering capital, the U.S. market currently presents a combination of high returns (data centers) and high risks (cost volatility).

Outlook: The Evolution of the Infrastructure Competitive Landscape

In the coming months of 2026, whether the diversification of the U.S. construction market can evolve from "a ray of dawn" into a full recovery depends on three major variables: first, the path of the Federal Reserve's interest rates—if expectations of rate cuts materialize, private non-residential investment may accelerate; second, the direction of tariff policy—if trade frictions ease, manufacturing construction could rebound; and third, labor supply bottlenecks—if immigration policies or training programs do not cooperate, industry expansion will be constrained.

From a longer-term perspective, the wave of data centers and AI infrastructure will continue to reshape the flow of global engineering capital, but governments’ investments in traditional infrastructure (transportation, water conservancy, power grids) and clean energy will not withdraw. The structural changes in the U.S. construction market are both a microcosm of the global digital transformation and a reflection of industrial competition strategies among nations.