The team at Nationwide Economics released their Year-End 2025 Construction Industry Report. This report highlights key industry trends and what to expect going into 2026.
The prices of construction materials continued to be stable throughout 2025. Despite uncertainty over tariff implementation and their potential headwinds businesses learned from the pandemic area about smart supply chain planning. Looking to 2026, this may affect the market more or drive an increase in domestic production. While residential construction saw a cool down phase throughout 2025, demand is building up. With this recovery the labor market looks to find qualified construction workers for these projects. In the new year, federal tax incentives and rate cuts may ease constraints for the industry and shift to a more steady market.
“As 2025 closes, the construction industry continues to face headwinds from elevated costs, labor shortages and policy uncertainty,” said Ben Ayers, AVP and Senior Economist at Nationwide. “However, signs point to cautious optimism heading into 2026, driven by fiscal stimulus and potential easing of interest rates.”Â
