Five Construction Trends to Watch in 2026
Date Posted: January 13, 2026
Posted In: Discussion, Ideas,
From Construction Dive: Contractors will need to depend on a familiar formula in 2026.
Over the past 12 months, construction activity leaned heavily on a narrow group of winning sectors. Tech giants pledged billions to expand the buildouts of their data center footprints. Public infrastructure construction, such as highways and water works, hummed along despite overarching funding pressures.
Without these megaprojects, however, expect construction activity as a whole to slow, as it did in November. Still, demand in those areas remains strong despite common headwinds around labor and building costs.
But for firms unable to absorb that, those factors could ultimately sideline work. For that reason, awards in the right sectors will again separate contractors gaining ground from those just treading water.
Below are five construction industry trends contractors will be keeping tabs on in 2026.
On Material Costs
Material prices are unlikely to deliver either a shock or reset in 2026, construction pros say.
Forecasts suggest material costs will inflate roughly 2% to 4% this year, with labor costs still exerting far greater pressure on project budgets than materials, said Brad Werner, partner and national leader of the construction and real estate practice at WIPFLI, a Milwaukee-based advisory firm. Cement and concrete prices appear largely flat, though steel and aluminum remain elevated due to tariff-related impacts.
Electrical equipment prices tied to grid upgrades and the artificial intelligence boom should also continue to swing, said Eric Schmitz, senior vice president at Turelk, a Long Beach, California-based general contractor.
“Prices rose sharply on tariffs and are now in a bit of a give back,” Schmitz told Construction Dive. “We continue to advise our clients that tariffs can increase volatility and we as contractors are including stronger escalation language.”