While external forces continue to challenge various sectors of the economy, at least one industry is maintaining its strength.

After some setbacks in fall and winter, the construction industry is growing this spring. According to the industry analyst firm Dodge Construction Network, construction starts rose 9 percentage points in April 2026. The increase brought the value of starts to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.33 trillion.

Construction starts measure the dollar value of projects that have advanced beyond the planning stage and have broken ground.

Construction involves much more than housing or office buildings. Dodge breaks down the industry figures into 15 different subcategories. It notes that only three of the categories posted month-to-month losses. On the other hand, nine of the fifteen saw double- or triple-digit growth.

More specifically, nonresidential building starts grew by 18.6% in April. This includes multiple categories such as warehouses, parking garages, schools, hotels and hospitals. Leading the pack, starts for new offices and data centers were up 46.1% for the month. The largest of these was a $5 billion data center in Midlothian, Texas.

Dodge notes that nonbuilding projects also posted strong gains of 7% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $394 billion. Highways, bridges and other public works helped drive up the numbers.

Of those sectors that did not do so well in April, residential starts fell by 0.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $383 billion. Not all residential activity posted a loss. Single-family starts increased 4.2%, but multifamily starts fell 7.2%, which drove the overall rate for this sector.

While Dodge measured significant declines in construction starts last November and February, the firm notes that construction is also on a path of growth that extends beyond month-to-month metrics.

On a year-to-date basis, total construction starts were up 5.4% through April. The industry showed similar numbers on a 12-month basis, with construction starts up 8.1% for the 12 months ending in April, compared to the previous 12 months.