U.S. commercial construction starts saw a modest bump in March 2025, although overall activity still lags behind last year’s pace through the first quarter, according to a new report from Dodge Construction Network.
Total construction starts rose 3% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.1 trillion. Nonresidential building activity — which includes offices, hotels, and healthcare facilities — climbed 6%, while infrastructure and utility-related nonbuilding starts surged 9%.
However, the year-to-date numbers paint a more cautious picture. Nonresidential starts are down 9% compared to the first quarter of 2024. Still, commercial and institutional groundbreakings remain up by 3% over the same period.
Even with this momentum, Dodge’s chief economist Eric Gaus issued a note of caution.
“Construction activity grew over the month, but sector-specific data continued to show mixed trends,” said Gaus. “Rising delays in the planning pipeline suggest that developers are already bracing for impact, grappling with higher tariffs, dwindling federal funding and ongoing labor shortages.”
Concerns over trade policies and broader economic uncertainty are weighing on the outlook. According to Dodge’s latest contractor backlog report, over 40% of contractors now expect profits to decline over the next six months.
“I expect these headwinds to grow as long as the uncertainty remains,” Gaus added.
Despite the challenging environment, several massive projects forged ahead in March — a signal that large-scale development continues to push forward even as smaller or more speculative ventures face delays.
According to Dodge’s data, here are the largest U.S. construction starts from March 2025:
The overall increase in commercial starts was buoyed by strong showings in the retail, office, and warehouse segments, which collectively saw a 21% month-over-month rise. Manufacturing rebounded sharply, with starts up 122% following a slow February.
Institutional construction was the outlier in March, falling 12% due to slower starts in government, dormitory, and transportation-related buildings.
Infrastructure (nonbuilding) projects climbed 9% during the month, driven largely by a dramatic 159% jump in utility and gas project starts. This helped counterbalance a 10% decline in highway and bridge starts and a 26% drop in environmental public works. So far in 2025, nonbuilding activity is up 16%, with utility work leading the way.
Residential construction, however, continues to slide. Starts dropped 5% in Q1 2025 compared to the same period last year, with single-family starts down 4% and multifamily down 6%.
Originally reported by Sebastian Obando in Construction Dive.
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