Infrastructure and Data Center Megaprojects Drive 34% Surge in May Construction Starts
According to Construction Dive, total construction starts surged 34.1% month over month in May, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.78 trillion, per data from Dodge Construction Network. Nonbuilding construction led all segments with a 91.9% monthly gain, driven by a 111.3% jump in highway and bridge starts and a 195.6% spike in utility groundbreakings. A $5 billion Rivian EV plant in Georgia fueled a 116.1% rebound in manufacturing starts, while data centers helped push office and data center starts up 20% for the month.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Field service companies with specialties in civil, utilities, or data center work are sitting in the strongest segments right now. Dodge’s numbers point directly to where groundbreakings are concentrated.
- Warehouse, hotel, and residential contractors face a softer pipeline. Hotel starts dropped 36.8% and warehouse starts fell 17% month over month in May, signaling fewer new projects entering the bid cycle.
- Year-to-date nonbuilding construction is up 32.9%, with electric power and utility work up 125.9%. Subcontractors in those trades should be actively tracking project pipelines in those categories now, before peak crew demand hits.
