North America

The US continues to be the # 1 economy, containing the largest related construction sector in the world, with its close to a $31 trillion economy that powers its unsurpassed technology know-how & creativity. The US Construction sector has the knowhow & worldwide influence. In 2026, the value of this market is between $2.3 & $2.7 trillion, by far the largest construction market in the world.

The future outlook for the US construction sector in the next 2 or 3 quarters appears promising, there are a couple of headwinds such as shortages of skilled workers, the impact of US tariffs & ongoing conflict in Europe. The US construction industry prediction for 2026 indicates restrained growth, perhaps 2.3% to 2.7% increase from the previous year. AI Data centers, Semiconductor / microchip facilities, Pharma & Hi-Tech & Manufacturing, Power / Pipeline projects & Infrastructure projects will be the projects being undertaken in 2026.  Housing, commercial office, shopping malls etc., will see a slight decline in 2026. US tariffs on imported materials into the USA is a real issue, these tariffs on steel, cooper, aluminum & other construction materials & components are averaging out to be in the 12.5% to 15% range. This tariff issue is still not fully implemented & is subject to negotiation & change it seems on a weekly basis. More than 300,000 US baby boomers are retiring each month, 10% to 20% of these individuals were part of the US construction sector. The question is: who is going to replace them? Will we always have this shortage of skilled workers?

Construction materials prices are still moving marginally higher, some material more than others. In the USA, we are seeing material prices increase (YoY) year over year by the following rates:

In the US, the 1^st half of 2026 appears to be somewhat uncertain, issues such as tariffs, supply chain issues & a shortage of skilled workers are a concern going forward. Locating & retaining skilled labor (pipefitter, plumbers, electricians, welders & instrumentation installers) & quality sub-contractors is a significant task, primarily in major & mid-sized cities or in remote locations.

Office, hospitals, school, apartment & hotel type construction will for the most part remain similar to last year’s expenditures.  

The need for new data center construction in the US is continuing to grow rapidly. We hear just about every week of a new facility starting to be constructed across the US. Construction of Data Centers, Semiconductor Fabrication Centers, High-Tech Micro-Chip production facilities, EV battery facilities and Call Centers primarily in the USA, with some activity as well in some European & Asian countries is extremely active, driven by the anticipated future needs of AI services.

Half a dozen or more European & Asian auto & construction equipment manufacturing companies have announced plans to set up & build new manufacturing facilities across the US; these production facilities will cost more than $500 billion to construct & will employ 1,000’s of construction workers, technical staff & factory workers over the next 5 years.

It appears that new AI data centers & small modular nuclear reactors are set to be a major growth area in the US construction sector, the need for significant electrical power is the reason for these nuclear power units.

As much as 20% to 25% of construction workers in certain US states such as Texas, Florida & Arizona are migrants, predominantly from Mexico & Central America. It is believed that as much as 50% of these construction workers are not permitted / documented to work in the USA, this could be a major problem in the next 6 to 12 months with President Trump’s promise to remove undocumented migrants from the USA.

US & Canadian skilled labor shortages are a serious problem for the construction sectors. The US construction industry will need to recruit close to half a million new skilled & un-skilled construction workers in 2026, to replace retiring “baby-boomers” and to keep up with demand for new construction work.

Mexico & Canada supply more than $25 to $30 billion worth of construction materials used in the US construction sector. Material such as such structural steel, aluminum products, timber / framing & lumber products, plywood & drywall are widely used materials.

The 2026 US / Canadian / Mexico Construction market is estimated to be in the $3.10 to $3.20 trillion range, an increase of 2.7% from 2025 (Year to Year), still the world’s largest construction market. In the USA construction cost increases have returned to more customary levels since the conclusion of COVID in the range of 2.5% to 3.1%.

Canada’s construction market is projected to grow to C$285 billion by the end of 2026. Canada’s construction activity in the 1st Q of 2026 is forecast to expand marginally by 1.6% to 1.9% over 2025 levels.  Construction material costs are set to increase by 2.2% to 2.7% and construction labor will see an increase of 2.5% to 2.9% in 2025. The Canadian infrastructure, civil engineering, mining and Oil & Gas construction sectors are experiencing a pick-up as we move further into 2025.

The Canadian dollar is still relatively weak compared to the US dollar, one Canadian dollar is 0.73 to the US dollar, which has been in this range for the last year or so. The thinking was that the US tariffs would stymy the Canadian economy more than it has. Tariffs on timber / lumber products, steel & aluminum have caused Canadian supplies some problems, but perhaps not a bad as some commentators forecasted. Current Canadian construction growth rate is between 1.9% & 2.5%; construction unemployment is between 7% & 7.7% range.

Mexico’s construction sector is forecast to experience positive growth in 2026, driven by infrastructure and a number of petro-chemical capital projects.