
Total construction starts ticked up 3% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual fee of $1.1 trillion, based on the report. Nonresidential constructing begins, akin to workplace, lodge and healthcare initiatives, jumped 6%, whereas nonbuilding exercise, akin to highways, bridges and utility crops, surged 9% through the month.
However on a year-to-date foundation, nonresidential begins path final 12 months’s tempo by the primary quarter by 9%, based on Dodge. Industrial and institutional groundbreakings, nevertheless, stay up 3% in comparison with the identical interval in 2024.
But that momentum may soon taper off, stated Eric Gaus, chief economist at Dodge Building Community.
“Building exercise grew over the month, however sector-specific knowledge continued to indicate blended traits,” stated Gaus. “Rising delays in the planning pipeline recommend that builders are already bracing for influence, grappling with increased tariffs, dwindling federal funding and ongoing labor shortages.”
Commerce coverage and issues over the broader financial system will seemingly additional gradual constructing exercise within the months forward, stated Gaus. That pessimism emerged within the latest backlog report, which confirmed that greater than 40% of contractors now anticipate a decline in income over the subsequent six months.
Gaus stated he expects these headwinds to develop so long as the uncertainty remains. Even so, that has not stopped among the nation’s largest initiatives from shifting forward.
Listed here are the 9 largest U.S. initiatives to interrupt floor in March, based on Dodge’s newest report:
- The $3.5 billion Dawn Offshore wind farm in Montauk, New York.
- The $2.1 billion Greenlink West Transmission Line in Yerrington, Nevada.
- The $1 billion Johnson & Johnson biologics manufacturing facility in Wilson, North Carolina.
- The $1 billion 4 Seasons Non-public Residences Las Vegas in Henderson, Nevada.
- The $800 million Capital One Area modernization in Washington, D.C.
- The $756 million Rail Tie Wind challenge in Tie Siding, Wyoming.
- The $750 million Amazon robotics achievement heart in Wilmington, North Carolina.
- The $357 million Flatiron Constructing Condominiums in New York Metropolis.
- The $276 million The Villa Miami Condominiums in Miami.
Begins development
Industrial begins offered a lift in March with groundbreakings up 21% month over month, largely because of robust exercise in retail, workplace and warehouse initiatives. Manufacturing additionally posted a pointy rebound, up 122% after a sluggish February. Institutional development, nevertheless, dropped 12% as dormitory, authorities and transportation begins slowed.

Courtesy of Dodge Building Community
On the infrastructure aspect, nonbuilding begins jumped 9% in March, pushed nearly fully by a 159% spike in utility and fuel initiatives. That helped offset a ten% drop in freeway and bridge work and a 26% decline in environmental public works. To date this 12 months, nonbuilding exercise is up 16%, led by power within the utility sector and constant development in highway and bridge development.

Courtesy of Dodge Building Community
Residential exercise, however, continued to melt in March. 12 months up to now, residential begins dropped 5%, with single-family and multifamily begins down 4% and 6%, respectively, in comparison with the primary three months of 2024.
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