New project starts cool in June, growth rate falls after boom in large-scale projects

After a busy period in which multiple multi-billion-dollar projects broke ground within a month, U.S. construction activity cooled notably in June. According to the latest report from Dodge Construction Network, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of total construction starts fell to $1.42 trillion in June, down 19.9% month-over-month. In May, contractors launched several large projects in energy, infrastructure, and other sectors, pushing construction starts to a cyclical high.

"Following strong large-project activity in May, overall construction starts pulled back in June," said Sarah Martin, director of economic research at Dodge Construction Network, in a statement. "Residential and institutional buildings remained weak, while commercial, industrial, and non-building projects continued to show strong year-to-date growth."

The report showed that nonresidential building starts fell 9.1% month-over-month in June. Among them, manufacturing building starts saw a particularly sharp decline, plunging 62.9% month-over-month; other segments, including office buildings and data centers, fell 3.7% month-over-month.

On the positive side, commercial building starts rose 1.2% month-over-month in June, driven by growth in warehouse, hotel, and retail building activity, Dodge noted.

For the first half of 2026 overall, total nonresidential building starts increased 6.2% year-over-year, with commercial project starts up 17.9% cumulatively. Meanwhile, institutional building starts (such as education and healthcare facilities) fell 7.3% cumulatively in the first half.

Non-building projects (such as infrastructure starts) fell 37.7% month-over-month in June. Among them, highway and bridge projects dropped 46.6% month-over-month, and utility building fell 70.3% month-over-month. This decline came on the back of a 91.9% month-over-month surge in non-building projects in May.

Despite the monthly decline, non-building project starts remained higher on a cumulative basis in the first half. Through the end of June, non-building starts were up 33.8% compared to the same period last year, the report showed.

Residential building starts continued to weaken month-over-month in June. Single-family starts edged down 3.4% month-over-month, while multifamily starts slipped 0.4% month-over-month.

According to Dodge, the largest projects that broke ground in June include:

• The Delta Forge 1 hyperscale data center campus in Boyce, Louisiana, with an investment of $3.6 billion.
• The Cleveland Browns Huntington Bank Field in Brook Park, Ohio, with an investment of $2.4 billion.
• The Sentinel Midstream deepwater port in Freeport, Texas, with an investment of $2.1 billion.
• The Amtrak Sawtooth Bridge replacement project in Kearny, New Jersey, with an investment of $2.1 billion.
• The AWS data center phase 2 in Canton, Mississippi, with an investment of $2 billion.
• The 1740 Broadway residential conversion project in New York City, with an investment of $480 million.
• The River Commons residential and community facility in Concourse, New York, with an investment of $251 million.
• The 40 Exchange Place residential conversion project in New York City, with an investment of $191 million.