Weekly Construction Market Intelligence Report (11/10-17)

November 10–17, 2025

Executive summary

North American construction continues to bifurcate. Private nonresidential has cooled in several categories, while specialized sectors including data centers, infrastructure modernization, and healthcare remain comparatively resilient. Associated Builders and Contractors’ October read shows the Construction Backlog Indicator fell to 8.4 months, the lowest since May, while contractors active in data center projects report nearly 11 months of backlog, underscoring sector dispersion:

• ENR coverage of ABC’s October backlog survey
• ABC 8.4‑month reading reported by FloorDaily 

Labor shortages remain a primary driver of project delays. AGC’s 2025 Workforce Survey reports workforce shortages as the leading cause of project delays, and notes immigration enforcement affected nearly one third of firms:

• AGC news release 
• ConstructConnect summary 

Technology adoption continues to accelerate. Turner announced a two‑year, company‑wide agreement to provide employees access to ChatGPT Enterprise, alongside broad AI agent development:

• Construction Dive
• Global Construction Review
• Turner corporate insight

Market highlights

Major project awards and completions

1. Pittsburgh International Airport Terminal Modernization

• Opening date announced for November 18, 2025; program value 1.7 billion dollars. Coverage and airport communications confirm modernization scope, new landside terminal, faster baggage delivery, and consolidated security.
  • Aviation Week 
  • The Points Guy 
  • WTAE Pittsburgh 
  • Pittsburgh Post‑Gazette 

2. Ivy City Rail Yard Modernization, Washington, D.C.

• Groundbreaking November 5, 2025; maintenance facility and yard upgrades to support Amtrak Airo trains entering service on the Northeast Corridor in 2027. IIJA‑supported corridor improvements.
  • Amtrak press release 

Growth and expansion

Granite Construction completes two acquisitions totaling 710 million dollars

• Granite completed acquisitions of Warren Paving and Papich Construction to expand vertically integrated home markets, adding more than 440 million tons of aggregate reserves and increasing annual aggregate production by approximately 27 percent. Expected to contribute approximately 425 million dollars of annual revenue with an estimated 18 percent adjusted EBITDA margin.
  • Granite press release 

Webcor deepens data center and semiconductor exposure by agreeing to acquire GCON

• Webcor agreed to acquire Phoenix‑based GCON to expand in mission critical and advanced tech markets; close expected in Q4 2025. Obayashi, Webcor’s parent, announced the deal as part of a broader strategy in critical environments.
  • Construction Dive 
  • Newsfile Corp announcement 
  • Obayashi corporate announcement

Construction tech consolidation: Buildots acquires Genda

• Buildots acquired workforce and safety management platform Genda to connect progress analytics with labor insights and workforce data.
  • Buildots announcement 
  • Construction Dive 

Industry trends

Data center construction momentum

• ABC’s October backlog data shows contractors active in data centers average 10.9 months of backlog versus 8.0 months for those not in that sector. Backlog dispersion indicates large project resilience amid broader easing.
  • ENR: 
  • FloorDaily 
• Market outlook sources indicate continued hyperscale investments and power‑adjacent M&A shaping capacity plans.
  • Research and Markets via GlobeNewswire 
  • Data Center Knowledge developments roundup

Construction economy

• Backlog slipped to 8.4 months in October, lowest since May, with 65 percent of contractors saying the industry is contracting, and 23 percent expecting sales to decline over the next six months. Data centers and manufacturing continue to stabilize backlog for larger firms while small‑firm activity eases.
  • ENR 
  • FloorDaily

Labor and regulatory

Labor dynamics

• AGC’s 2025 Workforce Survey reports workforce shortages as a leading cause of project delays, while nearly one third of firms experienced disruptions tied to immigration enforcement.
  • AGC
  • ConstructConnect 
  • ACP coverage 
• Construction unemployment context mid‑2025 shows a tight labor market, with June not seasonally adjusted construction unemployment at 3.4 percent.
  • ENR 

Notes on previously cited figures

• If you need a current quantified worker shortfall figure, ABC estimated the industry would need to attract 439,000 additional workers in 2025, which is directionally consistent with a significant labor gap:
  • ABC jobs release 
• Claims of consecutive months of nonresidential spending declines above 20 percent year over year for August and September were not verified in this pass. Consider substituting the backlog and confidence data above or provide links to U.S. Census or Dodge series if you prefer to retain.

Opportunities for owners and GCs

What the current environment implies

• Larger complex programs and multi‑state portfolios heighten the need for clean, same‑week approvals and payroll‑ready data.
• Backlog dispersion suggests that contractors tied to data centers and manufacturing will continue to prioritize field data quality, change documentation, and approval cycle times to protect margins and preserve schedule.

Buyer’s checklist for workforce and labor tracking in 2025

• Field‑first mobile UX for crews and foremen with required field validations
• Configurable classifications, cost codes, shift differentials, and union/prevailing wage support
• Real‑time T&M capture with photos, quantities, and e‑signatures
• Robust payroll and ERP exports or integrations with exception handling
• Portfolio‑level dashboards with role‑based access for PMs, Payroll, and Finance
• Change management plan for foremen and payroll adoption

KPIs to monitor weekly during expansion

• Timecard error rate week over week
• Percent of hours approved by payroll cutoff
• T&M capture rate and T&M approval cycle time
• Payroll exceptions per 1,000 hours
• Days from field work to PM‑visible cost reporting
• Disputed T&M dollars as a percent of total T&M

Company moves and technology

Enterprise AI adoption

• Turner announced a company‑wide, two‑year agreement to provide employees access to ChatGPT Enterprise and reported large‑scale AI agent development across project delivery, commercial, and administrative workflows:
  • Construction Dive 
  • Global Construction Review
  • Turner corporate insight

Specialty consolidation and productivity intelligence

• Buildots acquired Genda to combine progress tracking with workforce and safety intelligence for unified productivity analytics:
  • Buildots 
  • Construction Dive

Case vignette

Suffolk is redefining what modern field operations look like and Rhumbix is helping power the shift. In this new case study, see how Suffolk streamlined workflows, improved visibility, and supported its teams with digital tools built for fast and efficient project delivery.

Read the full story: 

Conclusion

Data centers, public infrastructure, and key healthcare programs continue to support a private market that has cooled, and the gap between large program backlogs and smaller firm activity is growing. The firms performing well in this environment capture field data in a consistent way, close approvals within the same week, and connect time and T and M directly to payroll and ERP so costs stay visible and defensible. Verified indicators point in the same direction. Backlog is softening in general but remains strong where mission critical demand is concentrated. Workforce shortages still cause delays, and owners reward contractors who document labor with accuracy and move quickly through approvals.

Contractors who align field workflows to these conditions protect margins and schedule reliability through the next planning cycle. Begin with mandatory mobile time entry that includes validations, capture out of scope work in real time with evidence, and report weekly KPIs across projects. With this foundation in place, growth can continue even as conditions remain uneven across segments and regions.

FAQs

Is a PM platform alone enough for time and T&M depth

Project management systems often coexist with spreadsheets and manual tickets. A labor‑focused system adds validations, payroll‑ready exports, and consistent T&M evidence that directly reduces exceptions and disputes.

How fast can teams move off paper

Pilots typically launch within weeks on a subset of crews, then scale in phases. Adoption success correlates with simple crew workflows, clear required fields, and quick wins in exception reduction.

What about union and certified payroll

Capturing classifications and rates correctly at the point of entry improves certified payroll accuracy and reduces rework. Multi‑state and union logic patterns help standardize compliance.

Request a 15‑minute workflow demo focused on data center, multi‑state, and union compliance use cases.

References and sources

• ENR on ABC Backlog and sector dispersion 
• FloorDaily on ABC 8.4‑month October reading 
• AGC workforce delays and immigration enforcement impact 
• ConstructConnect summary of AGC survey 
• ABC worker need estimate for 2025
• ENR on construction unemployment context 
• Pittsburgh International Airport modernization coverage:
  • Aviation Week 
  • The Points Guy
  • WTAE: 
  • Pittsburgh Post‑Gazette 
• Ivy City rail yard modernization 
• Granite acquisition press release 
• Webcor to acquire GCON:
  • Construction Dive 
  • Newsfile: 
  • Obayashi 
• Buildots acquires Genda:
  • Buildots 
  • Construction Dive
• Data center market outlook:
  • GlobeNewswire Research and Markets 
  • Data Center Knowledge
• Turner AI partnership:
  • Construction Dive
  • Global Construction Review
  • Turner insight