Today’s Construction Economy Report – Q2 2026
Despite loud headlines around geopolitics, oil, interest rates, and recession risk, U.S. nonresidential construction is not broadly weakening. Instead, activity is becoming increasingly concentrated. Overall spending has leveled off, but a growing share of work is flowing into megaprojects such as data centers, energy infrastructure, and defense-related facilities. This creates the paradox shaping today’s market; construction looks stable at the national level while becoming tighter, costlier, and more uneven at the regional level. Much of the noise dominating headlines has limited near-term impact on construction outcomes. The real signal is where capital is going and what is at risk of being displaced. Megaprojects are reshaping labor availability, pricing, and risk across local markets, forcing firms to make sharper choices about scale, margin, and backlog quality.
Download our Q2 Construction Economy Report and get all the details from MOCA Construction Economist, Brandon Michalski.
About Today’s Construction Economy Report
Prepared by MOCA Systems, Inc.’s Principal, Chief Construction Economist, Brandon Michalski, Today’s Construction Economy is a quarterly must-read for industry leaders seeking comprehensive, data-driven analysis for the nonresidential construction sector.
This in-depth report synthesizes insights from hundreds of trusted sources, including news, analytics, and industry experts, to provide timely, actionable intelligence to thousands of construction professionals. By integrating hard economic data with expert commentary, Today’s Construction Economy offers clear, informed analysis to help stakeholders navigate market shifts, anticipate trends, and make confident strategic decisions.
Stay informed! Subscribe to receive our quarterly Construction Economy Report!
Meet the Author
Brandon Michalski
Principal, Construction Economist
Brandon Michalski is the lead economist for MOCA Systems, Inc., a leading owner’s representative firm providing program and project management services. Brandon’s decade in the mining and heavy construction industries provides a foundation for subject matter expertise. He holds a Master of Science in Applied Economics from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD as well as a Bachelor’s Degrees in both Mining Engineering and Biology from West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV. Brandon currently lives in Pittsburgh, PA with his family and enjoys hiking and camping.
Today’s Construction Economy Report – Q3 2026
U.S. nonresidential construction enters the third quarter of 2026 in a deceptively calm position: total spending has roughly plateaued, headline cost and labor indicators are cooling, and the loudest trade-press narratives about jobsite robots, reshoring, and data-center “pauses” are running well ahead of what the underlying data shows. Underneath that calm, three more durable forces are doing the real work of shaping cost, schedule, and labor availability this quarter: power-grid interconnection constraints on data-center and industrial buildouts, tariff-driven materials inflation working its way through bid prices, and immigration enforcement’s effect on an already-tight craft-labor pool. None of the three is new, but each has moved from background risk to active, forward-facing constraint over the past quarter.
Download our Q3 Construction Economy Report and get all the details from MOCA Construction Economist, Brandon Michalski.
About Today’s Construction Economy Report
Prepared by MOCA Systems, Inc.’s Principal, Chief Construction Economist, Brandon Michalski, Today’s Construction Economy is a quarterly must-read for industry leaders seeking comprehensive, data-driven analysis for the nonresidential construction sector.
This in-depth report synthesizes insights from hundreds of trusted sources, including news, analytics, and industry experts, to provide timely, actionable intelligence to thousands of construction professionals. By integrating hard economic data with expert commentary, Today’s Construction Economy offers clear, informed analysis to help stakeholders navigate market shifts, anticipate trends, and make confident strategic decisions.
Stay informed! Subscribe to receive our quarterly Construction Economy Report!
Meet the Author
Brandon Michalski
Brandon Michalski is the lead economist for MOCA Systems, Inc., a leading owner’s representative firm providing program and project management services. Brandon’s decade in the mining and heavy construction industries provides a foundation for subject matter expertise. He holds a Master of Science in Applied Economics from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD as well as a Bachelor’s Degrees in both Mining Engineering and Biology from West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV. Brandon currently lives in Pittsburgh, PA with his family and enjoys hiking and camping.Principal, Construction Economist