An end-of-year pickup in infrastructure construction helped push groundbreakings higher in December, but contractors still face an overall lack of nonresidential growth outside of data center construction, according to Dodge Construction Network.
Total construction starts ticked up 2.6% month over month in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.24 trillion. Most of that growth came from nonbuilding construction, such as highways and bridges, as well as from the booming data center sector. Nonresidential starts, on the other hand, declined 6.6% month over month in December, according to the report.
For the full year 2025, however, nonresidential construction posted firmer footing, according to the Dodge data. Groundbreaking activity increased 4.5% for the year, boosted by a 10.9% year-over-year jump in commercial projects. Institutional projects, such as healthcare and education, ticked down 1.9% for the full year 2025.
“Nonbuilding construction, alongside data centers, was the primary engine of growth in 2025, supporting a 5.4% expansion in the total dollar-value of starts,” said Sarah Martin, associate director of forecasting at Dodge Construction Network. “In square footage terms, however, building starts declined 4.7% alongside weaker residential, manufacturing, and institutional activity.”
The December decline in nonresidential starts, which include commercial and institutional projects, came largely from a 30.8% month-over-month drop in manufacturing groundbreakings and an 18.2% month-over-month decline in education projects. On a positive note, other commercial segments fared much better in December; hotel starts, for example, rocketed 74.4% higher month over month.
Here are the largest projects to break ground 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 Station in Port Arthur, Texas.
- The $1.5 billion LAX Airport Roadway improvements in Los Angeles.
- The $1 billion Google 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.
Nonbuilding construction, which includes infrastructure projects, posted the strongest growth in December, according to the report. Groundbreakings jumped 16.3% month over month in December, led by a 85.2% month-over-month surge in highway and bridge construction.
For the full year, nonbuilding construction starts increased 18.7% compared to 2024, according to Dodge.
Residential construction posted growth for a second month in a row in December, with starts up 1% month over month to close the year. Single-family starts decreased 4.5% month over month in December, though multifamily groundbreakings jumped 10.2% for the month, according to the data.
On a full-year basis in 2025, residential construction as a whole trailed 2024’s pace by 4.8%. Single-family caused that decline, dropping 13.2% for the year. Multifamily construction, on the other hand, increased 13.1% for the full year in 2025.
