Gitnux/Report 2026

Building Industry Statistics

Even in 2023, the U.S. construction industry sits at a critical crossroads with labor strain hitting 89% of contractors and employment still at 8.1 million. See how major spend levels, safety and compliance signals, and faster new tech adoption like 3D printing are reshaping global building work from a $12.7 trillion market to 73% BIM use on large U.S. projects.
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November 11, 2026Updated
Building Industry Statistics
Megan GallagherWritten by Megan Gallagher·Edited by Kevin O'Brien·Fact-checked by Nikolas Papadopoulos
Published ·Updated
How this report is researched
01Editorial Scope

An editor sets the topic, the inclusion criteria, and the evaluation framework before research starts.

02Source Research

AI search agents locate sources and extract each figure together with the document it came from.

Read our full methodology →

Search agents attach provenance to every extracted figure.

Next review: within 31 days

01 Industry overview

The building industry at a glance

U.S. construction spending reached a $2.186 trillion seasonally adjusted annual rate in September 2026, although it was 2.7% below September 2025 as residential activity weakened and nonresidential work remained comparatively resilient.

$2.186T[86]
Total spending, September 2026
$1.648T[86]
Private construction, 2025
8.27M[44]
Construction employment, 2025
15%[86]
Texas share of permits, 2025
Market size
U.S. construction spending was $2.186 trillion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in September 2026. In 2025, private construction totaled $1.648 trillion, including $905.2 billion in residential and $742.4 billion in nonresidential construction.[86]
Forecast & CAGR
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects construction-industry employment to rise from 8.267 million in 2025 to 8.677 million in 2035, a 5.0% increase and approximately 0.5% compound annual growth. Construction output is projected to increase from $1.726 trillion to $1.940 trillion in chained 2017 dollars, equivalent to a 1.2% annual rate.[44]
Market share & regions
Residential permitting remains concentrated in the South and Sun Belt. In 2025, Texas accounted for 15% of U.S. permitted housing units, Florida 12%, California 7%, and North Carolina 6%; the top four states together represented about 40% of the national total.[86]
Segmentation
In 2025, private residential construction was $905.2 billion and private nonresidential construction was $742.4 billion. Within the broader 2026 market, September spending was $848.8 billion residential and $790.6 billion nonresidential at seasonally adjusted annual rates.[86]
Key players & concentration
The industry is structurally dispersed across specialty trades and regional contractors rather than dominated by a few national firms. In 2025, specialty trade contractors accounted for 5.228 million projected jobs, compared with 1.855 million in building construction and 1.183 million in heavy and civil engineering construction.[44]
Pricing
Construction pricing remains constrained by labor costs and project-specific input conditions. The median annual wage for construction and extraction occupations was $59,540 in May 2025, while the annual mean wage was $65,360; September 2026 construction spending was 2.7% below the same month of 2025, indicating that nominal activity had not translated into continued volume growth.[44][86]
Trends, drivers & challenges
Data-center, power, communication, and infrastructure projects are supporting nonresidential demand: private power construction was running at a $165.9 billion annual rate in August 2026, up 9.7% year over year. Countervailing pressures include weaker residential construction, with private residential spending down 4.8% year over year in August 2026, and persistent workforce requirements as construction employment is projected to grow by 410,700 through 2035.[86][44]
Consumer behavior & competition
Housing supply decisions remain sensitive to financing and regional demand: 1,431,616 privately owned housing units were authorized by permits in 2025, down 3.1% from 2024. Competition is strongest in large metropolitan markets; Dallas and Houston led 2025 metropolitan permitting with 66,179 and 65,075 authorized units, respectively.[86]
Regulation
Construction employers operate under OSHA’s 29 CFR Part 1926 construction standards, which cover site operations, structural work, equipment, hazardous materials, and worker protection. The regulatory framework includes detailed requirements for areas such as cranes, fall protection, excavation, steel erection, and electrical work.[87]
Latest news
The latest Census release available on November 10, 2026 reported September 2026 construction spending of $2.186 trillion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, down 1.9% from August and 2.7% from September 2025. Private residential spending fell 5.5% month over month, while private nonresidential spending rose 1.1%.[86]

02 Ranking

Top 10 Companies in the Building Industry

The leading companies in the building industry, ranked on market impact, performance, momentum, innovation and brand popularity.

Updated November 10, 2026 · Next review December 10, 2026

Verdict

Saint-Gobain leads Gitnux's 2026 building ranking with an Overall score of 9.3, with operating margin 11.4% in construction materials and building solutions. CRH is the highest-ranked cement and aggregates supplier at 9.2, with operating margin 14.5% across 28 countries for building materials.

Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓

Editor's top 3 picks

Where to start, by need.

  1. #1 Overall · Leader in construction materials & solutions

    Saint-Gobain

    FR

    Ranked #1 · 9.3 · Construction materials & solutions

    Why we picked it: We associate the segment with construction-market materials and solutions, reflected in an 11.4% operating margin signal.

    See in ranking ↓Visit saint-gobain.com ↗

  2. Leader in cement & aggregates

    CRH

    IE

    Ranked #2 · 9.2 · Cement & aggregates

    Why we picked it: We see building-materials footprint across 28 countries alongside an operating margin signal of 14.5%.

    See in ranking ↓Visit crh.com ↗

  3. Leader in ready-mixed concrete

    Heidelberg Materials

    DE

    Ranked #3 · 8.9 · Ready-mixed concrete

    Why we picked it: We tie the company to cement, aggregates and ready-mixed concrete with an integration footprint and 1.4% revenue growth.

    See in ranking ↓Visit heidelbergmaterials.com ↗

Pick 1 is the #1 company overall. Picks 2 and 3 are the highest-ranked companies in the top 5 that add a new segment.

Full ranking

Sort by
Top 10 companies in the building industry, 2026 – Gitnux ranking
#CompanyOverall ↓Company snapshot
1

Saint-Gobain

Construction materials & solutions · FR

9.3
2

CRH

Cement & aggregates · IE

9.2
3

Heidelberg Materials

Ready-mixed concrete · DE

8.9
4

Knauf

Gypsum & insulation systems · DE

8.8
5

Holcim

Construction materials & solutions · CH

8.8
6

The Sherwin-Williams Company

Architectural and protective coatings · US

8.5
7

LIXIL

Building fixtures, housing equipment and plumbing · JP

8.2
8

Etex

Plasterboard, fiber cement and insulation · BE

7.9
9

Owens Corning

Roofing, insulation and building materials · US

7.9
10

Masco

Plumbing, decorative and building products · US

7.6

How we score

  • Impact (30%): scale and weight in the market (revenue, market share, employees, market position).
  • Performance (20%): recent revenue growth and operating margin; an analyst assessment where a company does not publish them.
  • Momentum (20%): growth trajectory and future potential.
  • Innovation (15%): R&D intensity and how technologically advanced the company is.

Popularity (brand search demand, 15%) counts toward Overall but is not published as a column. Overall leaves out what is not known.

Scale Scores are shown on a 7–10 scale with one decimal; bars start at 7.0.

Cadence Recalculated when new figures are published; next review December 10, 2026.

Independence. Rankings are editorially independent. Scores, ranks, picks and the verdict follow the method above; no company can pay to change them.

Cite this ranking

APA

Megan Gallagher. (2026, February 13). Top 10 companies in the building industry. In Building Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/building-industry-statistics/#top-companies

report visual · Comparison

Revenue of the largest building companies

Saint-Gobain leads with $50.3B in annual revenue (group level, converted to USD).

Saint-Gobain$50.3B
CRH$37.4B
Heidelberg Materials$23.2B
Holcim$17.8B
Knauf$16.5B
Owens Corning$10.1B
source-verifiedsaint-gobain.com · crh.com · heidelbergmaterials.com · holcim.com · knauf.com · investor.owenscorning.com2025

04 Statistics

Technology & Innovation

AI adoption is already broad: 74% of U.S. construction businesses reported using AI regularly in at least some workflow areas in 2025.

AI in the building industry

  • 74% of U.S. construction businesses reported using AI regularly in at least some workflow areas in 2025.[1]
  • 45% of global construction organizations reported no AI use, while 1% had scaled AI across projects in 2025.[2]
  • 59% of Australian small construction SMEs were not planning to implement AI or were unaware of it, based on 2024–2025 averages.[3]
  • 40% of global construction professionals expected AI to have its greatest five-year impact on design optioneering in 2025.[2]
  • 46% of global construction organizations identified a lack of skilled personnel as an AI-adoption barrier in 2025.[2]
  • 18% of surveyed U.S. contractors used artificial intelligence in 2025, up from 11% in 2024.[4]

Automation in the building industry

  • 12% of U.S. construction firms expected to make an initial or increased investment in 3-D printing in 2024.[5]
  • 15% of U.S. construction firms expected to make an initial or increased investment in robotics in 2024.[5]
  • 80.8% of U.S. contractors using drones reported using them for site-progress monitoring in 2026.[6]
  • 14% of U.S. construction firms expected to make an initial or increased investment in autonomous equipment or vehicles in 2024.[5]
  • 53.5% of U.S. construction contractors identified regulatory and compliance issues as a major drone-adoption challenge in 2026.[6]
  • 43.4% of U.S. construction contractors identified training and staffing as a major drone-adoption challenge in 2026.[6]

Digital Transformation in the construction and real estate sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among 933 engineering and construction businesses surveyed, 38% were already using building information modelling in 2024.[7]
  • Among 933 engineering and construction businesses surveyed, 47% were already using data analytics in 2024.[7]
  • Across Australia’s building and construction industry, 64% of organisations invested in data and digitalisation during the 12 months before the 2025 survey.[3]
  • Among 933 engineering and construction businesses surveyed, 41% were already using mobile apps in 2024.[7]

Technology Adoption in the construction and real estate sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among ICI contractors surveyed in 2024, 43% reported experience using jobsite data-collection applications.[4]
  • Among ICI contractors surveyed in 2024, 35% reported experience using advanced building materials.[4]
  • Among ICI contractors surveyed in 2024, 44% reported experience using building information modelling.[4]
  • Among ICI contractors surveyed in 2024, 11% reported experience using artificial intelligence.[4]

Cloud Computing in the construction and real estate sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among capital-projects and infrastructure organisations surveyed globally, 2% neither used cloud technology nor planned to use it within 12 months in 2025.[8]
  • Among 933 engineering and construction businesses surveyed, 43% were already using construction-management cloud software in 2024.[7]
  • Across capital-projects and infrastructure organisations surveyed globally, 9% planned to adopt cloud technology within the next 12 months in 2025.[8]
  • Across capital-projects and infrastructure organisations surveyed globally, 89% were currently using cloud technology in 2025.[8]

Big Data in the construction and real estate sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across real estate investors, 60% report that a formal data initiative is underway at their firm, based on an EY survey of more than 50 executives.[9]
  • Across construction businesses, 33% analyze financial data and use it to inform business decisions, while 86% capture it, in 2023.[10]
  • Across real estate companies, 13% have access to real-time business intelligence and analytics, according to the 2024 commercial real estate outlook.[11]
  • Across capital-projects and infrastructure organisations surveyed globally, 48% were currently using big data and Internet-of-Things technologies in 2025.[8]
  • Across European enterprises, big-data analytics adoption in construction was 4% in the latest Eurostat-based data reported by the OECD.[12]
  • Across global real estate owners and investors, 61% remain dependent on legacy technology infrastructures, according to Deloitte’s 2024 outlook survey.[11]

05 Statistics

Data & Analytics

Data use shows a gap between collection and decision use: construction businesses collect 11 data types but analyze and use only three.

Business intelligence in the building industry

  • 35.48% of construction business-intelligence studies reviewed used data warehouses, based on a systematic review of 93 studies.[13]
  • 56% higher expected annual profit growth is associated with moving from beginner to leader data capabilities in construction.[14]
  • Construction businesses collect an average of 11 data types but analyze and use only three for business decision-making.[14]
  • 37.63% of construction business-intelligence studies reviewed used data-mining techniques, based on a systematic review of 93 studies.[13]
  • 12% of construction businesses are classified as data-capability leaders across 12 surveyed countries.[14]
  • Construction businesses classified as data leaders have expected annual profit growth of 6.1% over five years, compared with 3.4% for beginners.[14]

Data analytics in the building industry

  • 21% of Danish construction companies use data analytics, according to a 2025 maturity assessment of 317 companies.[15]
  • 6% of built-environment professionals currently use artificial intelligence to generate actionable business insights from data in a 2026 survey.[16]
  • 47% of Australian engineering and construction businesses already use data analytics, according to a 2024 survey of 933 businesses.[7]
  • 26% of Australian engineering and construction businesses plan to implement data analytics, according to a 2024 survey of 933 businesses.[7]
  • 72% of built-environment professionals spend more than three hours gathering and preparing data before analysis in a 2026 survey.[16]
  • 64% of construction contractors have improved field-data gathering and analysis capabilities during the previous three years in a U.S. survey.[6]

Data Quality in the construction and real estate sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across construction companies, 38% rated their ability to share and use data with internal and external collaborators as strong in the report’s construction sample.[17]
  • Across UK housing providers, only 23% were confident in tenant or customer data in 2022, the lowest confidence level among the data categories surveyed.[18]
  • Across institutional real estate, data quality received an average self-rating of 6.2 out of 10 in 2026, based on 72 professionals across 38 firms.[19]
  • Across UK housing providers, 48% were totally confident in their real-estate asset data in 2022, compared with 34% confident in management and maintenance data.[18]
  • Across construction professionals, 76% said departments frequently or occasionally work from different systems and data sources in a 2026 survey.[16]
  • Across construction professionals, 72% said they spend more than three hours gathering and preparing data before it is ready for analysis in a 2026 survey.[16]

Data Governance in the construction and real estate sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across US construction owners requiring data governance plans, 19% required them on a majority of projects in the 2024–2025 survey period.[20]
  • Across construction businesses, 10% reported in 2023 that they did not have a well-defined data governance policy.[14]
  • Across US construction owners, 45% did not provide regular data training in the 2024–2025 survey period, limiting governance capability and consistent data use.[20]
  • Across US construction owners, 45% required project teams to define a data governance plan in the 2024–2025 survey period.[20]
  • Across institutional real estate, governance readiness for AI received an average self-rating of 5.1 out of 10 in 2026, based on 72 professionals across 38 firms.[19]
  • Across US construction owners, 11% required project teams to use data standards on all projects in the 2024–2025 survey period.[20]

KPIs in the building industry

  • 56% of construction survey respondents identify manual data gathering and analysis as the primary obstacle to generating useful insight.[16]
  • 43% of construction survey respondents are investigating how artificial intelligence could support business data analysis.[16]
  • 6% of construction survey respondents use artificial intelligence to generate actionable business insights from data.[16]
  • 64% of U.S. construction contractors improved field-data gathering and analysis capabilities during the previous three years.[6]
  • 72% of construction survey respondents spend more than three hours preparing data before making a decision.[16]

06 Statistics

Strategy & Growth

Demand conditions are mixed in the U.S.; spending was forecast at $2.167 trillion in 2026, down 3.4% from 2025.

Growth in the building industry

  • International sales of the top 30 global construction companies increased from 21.3% of total sales in 2024 to almost 25% in 2025.[11]
  • Revenue of the top 100 global construction companies decreased 0.4% in 2025.[11]
  • Canadian construction spending was forecast to increase 5.8% in 2026.[21]
  • The top 100 global construction companies generated approximately $1.972 trillion in revenue in 2025.[11]
  • Aggregate sales of European companies in Deloitte’s global construction-company sample increased approximately 9.0% in 2025.[11]
  • US construction spending was forecast at $2.167 trillion in 2026, down 3.4% from 2025.[21]

Mergers and acquisitions in the building industry

  • Core construction represented nearly $39.5 billion of disclosed US engineering-and-construction M&A value in 2025.[11]
  • 65 construction-sector mega-deals worth more than $1 billion were recorded globally in 2024, up 44% from 2023.[22]
  • Core construction accounted for more than 340 US M&A transactions in 2025.[11]
  • 3,398 construction-sector M&A deals were recorded globally in 2024, down 0.1% from 2023.[22]
  • Construction-services transaction volume reached 562 announced or closed deals in 2025, an 18.2% increase from 2024.[23]
  • US engineering-and-construction-related M&A deals represented approximately $50.8 billion in disclosed value in 2025.[11]

07 Statistics

People & Workforce

Workforce constraints persist, with 92% of construction companies reporting difficulty hiring for open positions in the 2025 AGC/NCCER workforce survey.

Hiring in the building industry

  • 81% of U.S. construction companies reported difficulty hiring project managers or supervisors in the 2024 workforce survey.[24]
  • 370,000 construction job openings were recorded in the United States on the last day of August 2024.[25]
  • 78% of U.S. construction firms reported difficulty filling hourly craft positions in the 2025 outlook survey.[5]
  • 92% of construction companies reported difficulty hiring for open positions in the 2025 AGC/NCCER workforce survey.[24]
  • 94% of U.S. construction firms reported an opening for hourly craft workers on June 30, 2024.[25]

Employee retention in the building industry

  • 35% of large U.S. construction firms named hiring and retention risk their top business concern entering 2025.[26]
  • 48% of U.S. construction contractors reported that candidates fail to show up or quit shortly after starting in 2025.[24]
  • 58% of large construction firms identified employee retention and turnover as their top labor challenge for 2025.[26]
  • 68.2% was the average annual turnover rate reported for the U.S. construction workforce in 2025.[27]

Remote Work in the construction and real estate sector (sector benchmark)

  • About 9% of U.S. construction workers worked remotely at least sometimes during October 2023–September 2024, including hybrid and fully remote work.[28]
  • In 2024, 23.7% of finance, insurance and real-estate positions were fully remote in the U.S., according to employers surveyed by NACE.[29]
  • In 2024, 2.7% of construction positions were fully remote in the U.S., according to employers surveyed by NACE.[29]
  • In January 2024, 33.63% of U.S. real-estate wage and salary employees worked from home, based on the Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes.[30]

Hybrid Work in the construction and real estate sector (sector benchmark)

  • In 2024, 15.0% of construction positions were fully hybrid in the U.S., according to employers surveyed by NACE.[29]
  • In 2024, 43% of surveyed real-estate executives identified flexible workday schedules as a leading talent-acquisition and retention action.[11]
  • Forty-two percent of real-estate investment managers expected employees to be in the office four days per week within six to 12 months, according to a 2025 NAREIM survey.[19]
  • In 2024, 55.8% of finance, insurance and real-estate positions were fully hybrid in the U.S., according to employers surveyed by NACE.[29]

Upskilling in the building industry

  • 25% of Australian construction organizations planned to increase workforce-upskilling investment during the next 12 months in 2025.[3]
  • 52% of U.S. construction contractors increased engagement with career and technical education programs in 2025.[24]
  • 33% of Australian construction subcontractors had not invested in workforce upskilling during the previous 12 months in 2025.[3]
  • 44% of construction leaders reported lacking resources to design internal training programs in Autodesk’s 2025 survey.[17]
  • 42% of U.S. construction contractors increased spending on training and professional development in 2025.[24]

Employee Engagement in the construction and real estate sector (sector benchmark)

  • Construction employees scored 4.20 out of 5 on engagement-related measures in 2024, up from 3.92 in 2022, in WebMD Health Services’ survey of 3,653 workers.[31]
  • Across construction and heavy industry, Meaningful Work received the highest driver score at 8.45 out of 10 in 2026.[32]
  • Forty-seven percent of construction employers said their workforce was highly engaged in the 2018 U.S. construction benefits benchmarking survey.[33]
  • Fifty-nine percent of construction employers lacked a strategy to improve employee engagement in the 2018 U.S. construction benefits benchmarking survey.[33]
  • Across construction and heavy industry, the average employee eNPS was +24 in the 2026 benchmark.[32]

DEI in the building industry

  • 62.2% of the U.S. construction workforce was White in 2024.[34]
  • 57.6% of female construction respondents reported experiencing sexual harassment at least sometimes, frequently or always in an IWPR-cited survey.[35]
  • 12% of the U.S. construction workforce was female in 2024.[34]

08 Statistics

Customer & Sales

Lead conversion relies on direct contact: 98% of construction leads required phone contact to complete conversion in the 2024 outreach dataset.

Customer experience in the building industry

  • 62% of New Zealand new homeowners rated communication from their builder as good in 2023.[36]
  • 69% of New Zealand new homeowners rated support after moving in positively in 2024.[36]
  • 60% of New Zealand new homeowners rated communication from their builder as good in 2022.[36]
  • 88% of New Zealand new homeowners rated their home’s overall quality as good in 2024.[36]
  • 81% of New Zealand new homeowners rated service during the buying process positively in 2024.[36]

Customer retention in the building industry

  • 74% of New Zealand new homeowners rated service during the buying process positively before the 2024 improvement.[36]
  • 62% of New Zealand new homeowners rated builder communication positively in 2020.[36]
  • 81% of New Zealand new homeowners rated overall home quality positively in 2022.[36]
  • 62% of New Zealand new homeowners rated post-move-in support positively in 2023.[36]
  • 65% of New Zealand new homeowners rated builder communication positively in 2020 according to the communication survey’s good-rating series.[36]

Customer acquisition in the building industry

  • More than 50% was the mid-funnel conversion rate for construction leads generated by email marketing in 2024.[37]
  • 45.9% of residential building companies identified generating quality leads as their biggest marketing challenge in 2023.[38]
  • 53.7% of construction top-of-funnel conversions came from PPC and social media in the 2024 outreach dataset.[37]
  • 17.4% of construction top-of-funnel conversions came from paid lead sites in 2024.[37]
  • 98% of construction leads required phone contact to complete conversion in the 2024 outreach dataset.[37]

Customer loyalty in the building industry

  • 87% of New Zealand new homeowners rated overall home quality as good in 2018.[36]
  • 7 percentage points was the 2024 increase in first-time home builders’ likelihood of recommending their builder compared with 2023.[36]
  • 70% of New Zealand new homeowners rated builder communication as good in 2024, a key relationship measure.[36]
  • 81% of New Zealand new homeowners rated overall home quality as good in 2023.[36]
  • 81% of New Zealand new homeowners rated overall home quality as good in 2022.[36]

Lead generation in the building industry

  • 45.9% of residential building companies said generating quality leads was their biggest marketing challenge in 2023.[38]
  • 58.7% of residential builders never emailed their database in 2023.[39]
  • 53.7% of construction top-of-funnel conversions came from PPC and social media in 2024.[37]
  • 66.5% of residential builders did not create a blog article in 2023.[39]
  • 12.1% of residential building companies said generating enough leads was their biggest marketing challenge in 2023.[39]

09 Statistics

Marketing & Brand

Advertising operations are often outsourced: 60.0% of construction advertisers outsourced Google Ads management in the 2023 survey year.

Marketing in the building industry

  • 13.1% of residential builders spent 2% of revenue on marketing in 2023.[39]
  • 5.1% of residential builders spent 3% of revenue on marketing in 2023.[39]
  • 42.2% of AEC marketing professionals judged messaging success using performance metrics in 2024.[40]
  • 28.3% of residential builders spent 0% of revenue on marketing in 2023.[39]
  • 39% of AEC marketing professionals identified measuring digital-marketing return on investment as a campaign challenge in 2024.[40]

Digital marketing in the building industry

  • 35.3% of AEC marketing teams devoted less than 25% of their time to marketing strategy and brand building in 2024.[40]
  • 45.3% of AEC marketers used blogging or thought-leadership content for brand awareness or pipeline generation in 2024.[40]
  • 40% of AEC marketers devoted less than 25% of their time to creating and writing new content in 2024.[40]
  • 60.0% of construction advertisers outsourced Google Ads management in the 2023 survey year.[39]
  • 94.2% of AEC marketers used social media for brand awareness or pipeline generation in 2024.[40]

Branding in the building industry

  • 26.1% of AEC marketers judged marketing-message success by competitive edge in 2024.[40]
  • 77.2% of AEC marketers used industry awards for brand awareness or pipeline generation in 2024.[40]
  • 74.4% of AEC marketers used trade-show or conference sponsorships for brand awareness or pipeline generation in 2024.[40]
  • 24% of AEC marketers identified Adobe Creative Suite or Cloud as important software for brand building and content creation in 2024.[40]
  • 69.4% of AEC marketers used traditional media for brand awareness or pipeline generation in 2024.[40]

Social media in the building industry

  • 8% of New Zealand residential construction workers reported using no social media in 2024.[41]
  • 20% of New Zealand residential construction workers regularly used TikTok in 2024.[41]
  • 47% of New Zealand residential construction workers regularly used Instagram in 2024.[41]
  • 52% of New Zealand residential construction workers regularly used YouTube in 2024.[41]
  • 73% of New Zealand residential construction workers regularly used Facebook in 2024.[41]

Influencer Marketing in the construction and real estate sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across U.S. prospective home buyers, 41% said in 2025 they were more likely to hire a real estate agent with a social media presence.[42]
  • Among U.S. real estate professionals, 52% said social media generated the highest number of quality leads in the previous 12 months in 2024.[43]
  • Among U.S. real estate professionals, 15% used TikTok for business in 2024, while 10% used X (formerly Twitter).[43]
  • Across U.S. prospective home buyers, 42% preferred Instagram for communication with a real estate agent in 2025, compared with 47% preferring Facebook.[42]
  • Among U.S. real estate professionals, 62% used Instagram for business in 2024, alongside 87% using Facebook and 25% using YouTube.[43]

10 Statistics

Operations & Execution

Field information and quality controls remain uneven: 11% of field personnel reported always having the information they need about what and where to build.

Process optimization in the building industry

  • 4.5% was the productivity decrease in U.S. single-family residential construction in 2025, as output declined 4.3% and hours worked increased 0.2%.[44]
  • 1.8% was the productivity decline in U.S. highway, street and bridge construction in 2025, when output fell 0.9% and hours worked rose by an equivalent percentage.[44]
  • 7.1% was the productivity decline in U.S. multiple-family residential construction in 2024, when output fell more sharply than hours worked.[44]
  • 7.4% was the productivity decline in U.S. multiple-family residential construction in 2025, with output down 12.4% and hours worked down 5.4%.[44]
  • 45.8% was the record productivity increase for U.S. industrial building construction in 2023, driven by a 49.4% output increase and a 2.5% rise in hours worked.[44]

Operational efficiency in the building industry

  • 132.240 was the 2024 U.S. construction unit-labor-cost index, compared with 68.684 in 2005.[45]
  • 68% of U.S. construction survey respondents identified skills shortages as an obstacle to activity in Q4 2024.[2]
  • 97.359 was the 2024 U.S. construction labor-productivity index, compared with 105.692 in 2005.[45]
  • 49% of U.S. construction survey respondents identified financial constraints as an obstacle to activity in Q4 2024.[2]
  • 58% of U.S. construction survey respondents identified labor shortages as an obstacle to activity in Q4 2024.[2]

Quality management in the building industry

  • 11% of field personnel reported always having the information they need about what and where to build on U.S. and Canadian projects.[46]
  • 98% of U.S. and Canadian contractors reported serious quality issues, including errors, omissions or rework, on projects during the previous three years.[46]
  • 43% of non-conformance cases in an infrastructure-project dataset involved rework.[47]
  • 125 infrastructure projects in the study recorded non-conformances requiring analysis of quality-related events.[47]
  • 33% of U.S. and Canadian contractors named onsite coordination as the root cause of serious quality issues.[46]

Supply chain in the building industry

  • Up to one year was the reported delivery time for transformers serving U.S. construction projects in 2024.[33]
  • 45% of U.S. contractors turned to alternative suppliers to manage supply-chain problems in 2024.[5]
  • 36% of U.S. contractors specified alternative materials or products in 2024 because of supply-chain conditions.[5]
  • 20–40 weeks was the reported delivery time for some electrical switchgear in the U.S. construction market in 2024.[33]
  • 56% of U.S. contractors accelerated purchases after winning contracts to manage supply-chain problems in 2024.[5]

Outsourcing / Offshoring in the construction and real estate sector (sector benchmark)

  • $5.66 per agent per month was the average outsourced accounting-labor price for U.S. real-estate brokerages with more than 500 agents, based on an August 2024 survey.[48]
  • 46.5% of Australian construction-industry input costs came from outsourced services in 2024, including labour hire, consultants and capital rentals.[3]
  • 45% of Australian infrastructure-construction businesses surveyed in 2025 reported cost overruns as a challenge when managing subcontracting or labour-hire relationships.[3]
  • 11% of income in Australian civil engineering, non-residential building and related construction came from subcontracting in 2025.[3]
  • 30% of costs in Australian infrastructure construction flowed to external construction services in 2025.[3]

11 Statistics

Finance & Pricing

Pricing pressure persists alongside constrained activity; September 2026 construction spending was 2.7% below the same month of 2025.

Pricing strategy in the building industry

  • 56% of civil-infrastructure construction respondents expected margins to compress somewhat or significantly in 2025.[21]
  • 10% of U.S. construction firms had experienced postponement or cancellation of a project scheduled for the first half of 2024.[49]
  • 45% of civil-infrastructure construction respondents identified labor as the primary cost shift affecting margins in 2024.[21]
  • 36% was the approximate increase in U.S. national bid prices from January 2021 to January 2023.[50]
  • 38% of U.S. construction firms reported rising interest rates as a cause of project deferrals in the 2024 outlook survey.[5]

Cost reduction in the building industry

  • 132.240 was the 2024 U.S. construction unit-labor-cost index, up from 68.684 in 2005.[45]
  • 45% of U.S. contractors used alternative suppliers as a supply-chain cost-management measure in 2024.[5]
  • 36% of U.S. contractors specified alternative materials or products to manage supply-chain pressures in 2024.[5]
  • 177.345 was the 2024 U.S. construction unit-capital-cost index, up from 71.557 in 2005, indicating substantial long-term capital-cost growth.[45]
  • 64% of Australian building and construction firms invested in digitalisation during 2023–24, including automation intended to improve productivity and control costs.[3]

Profitability in the building industry

  • 35% was the Q4 2024 U.S. construction survey net balance for profit margins, up from 22% in Q3.[2]
  • 22.4% was the average gross-profit margin reported in CFMA’s 2025 construction financial survey.[51]
  • 98% of surveyed Top 400 U.S. contractors reported making a profit in 2025.[26]
  • 6.8% was the average U.S. construction-company net-income-before-tax margin for fiscal 2025.[52]
  • 4.8% was the typical U.S. construction-firm revenue growth rate in fiscal 2025.[52]

Financial planning in the building industry

  • 53% of U.S. construction firms reported project postponement or cancellation caused by rising costs in the 2024 outlook survey.[5]
  • 44% of U.S. construction survey respondents identified cost of materials as an obstacle to activity in Q4 2024.[2]
  • 26% of U.S. construction survey respondents identified insufficient demand as an obstacle to activity in Q4 2024.[2]
  • 36% of U.S. construction survey respondents identified material costs as an obstacle to activity in Q4 2024.[2]
  • 56% of U.S. civil-infrastructure construction respondents expected margins to compress somewhat or significantly in 2025, highlighting the need for forward financial planning.[21]

12 Statistics

Product & Service

Productization and industrialized construction are moving from partial practice toward expectations, with 37% to 40% using productization regularly or as standard practice.

Product development in the building industry

  • 82% of industrialized-construction adopters report stronger schedule performance worldwide.[53]
  • 33% of Australian building and construction firms report using 3D printing, based on a 2024 engineering and construction business survey.[7]
  • 51% of construction-industry respondents identify traditional procurement as the leading barrier to wider productization and design for manufacture and assembly worldwide.[53]
  • 37% to 40% of construction-industry respondents currently use productization, design for manufacture and assembly, or prefabrication regularly or as standard practice worldwide.[53]
  • 70% of construction-industry respondents expect industrialized construction to become standard practice, including productization and design for manufacture and assembly, by 2031 worldwide.[53]

Product lifecycle in the building industry

  • 32% of Danish construction companies use life-cycle assessment tools, according to a 2025 maturity assessment of 317 companies.[15]
  • 23% of Danish construction companies use life-cycle costing tools, according to a 2025 maturity assessment of 317 companies.[15]
  • 73% of construction-product manufacturers offer BIM or digital objects for at least some products in the UK, supporting information management across product and asset lifecycles.[54]
  • 69% of UK specifiers required BIM content from construction-product manufacturers in the 2019 NBS National BIM Report.[54]
  • 70% of UK construction professionals use BIM, indicating established lifecycle information workflows across the built environment.[54]

Value proposition in the building industry

  • 43% of UK construction specifiers say comprehensive safety and sustainability information for building products is not easy to find.[54]
  • 84% of industrialized-construction adopters report better quality, strengthening the value proposition of productized building approaches worldwide.[53]
  • 35% of Australian building and construction organisations spent up to 5% of revenue on data and digitalisation.[3]
  • 90% of UK architects consider third-party credentials essential for safety-critical building products.[54]
  • 22% of Australian building and construction organisations invested between 5% and 10% of revenue in data and digitalisation.[3]

13 Statistics

Sustainability & Ethics

Materials emissions remain material to footprint; 18% of global buildings-sector CO2 emissions were linked to cement and steel materials in 2023.

Sustainability in the building industry

  • 18% of global buildings-sector emissions came from cement and steel materials in 2023.[55]
  • 5.4% was the increase in building-operations CO2 emissions since 2015, rather than the targeted reduction.[55]
  • More than 30% of the European Union’s environmental footprint came from buildings, making buildings the EU’s highest-impact sector.[56]
  • 9.5% was the decline in buildings-sector energy intensity since 2015, versus an 18.2% reduction needed for the sector’s target.[55]
  • 283,115 training hours were delivered by ACS Group in its reported sustainability indicators.[57]

ESG in the building industry

  • 50.3% of ACS Group employees were women in the company’s reported workforce indicators.[57]
  • 100% of ACS Group significant suppliers were evaluated on ESG criteria in the company’s reported indicators.[57]
  • 16% was Skanska’s reported gender pay gap in 2025.[58]
  • 100% of Skanska’s Group Leadership Team completed anti-bribery training.[58]
  • 100% of ACS Group operations were evaluated for human-rights risks in the company’s reported sustainability indicators.[57]

Ethics in the building industry

  • 23 breaches were confirmed across Skanska’s reported Code of Conduct cases in 2025.[58]
  • 106 of Skanska’s 173 reported cases in 2025 concerned workplace issues such as harassment, discrimination, working conditions, health and safety, or employment matters.[58]
  • 98% of Skanska’s at-risk employees completed anti-bribery training in 2025.[58]
  • 100% of Skanska’s Group Leadership Team completed anti-bribery training in 2025.[58]
  • 173 ethics-related reports were received by Skanska in 2025, including 118 through its Code of Conduct hotline.[58]

CSR in the building industry

  • 21% of Australian construction-company employees were women, according to Infrastructure Australia’s industry data.[3]
  • 46% of Australian construction organisations had invested in workforce-diversity, retention or attraction programs during the previous 12 months.[3]
  • $281,686 was contributed by Weyerhaeuser in employee-donation matching funds in 2024.[59]
  • 50 employees were involved in reported discrimination incidents at Skanska in 2025.[58]
  • 283,115 employee training hours were reported by ACS Group as part of its social and sustainability performance.[57]

Circular economy in the building industry

  • 88% was the recycling rate for segregated wood, paper, glass and plastic construction waste in Ireland in 2024.[60]
  • 81% of Ireland’s non-hazardous construction and demolition waste, excluding soil and stones, was recovered through recycling or backfilling in 2024.[60]
  • 77% of Ireland’s construction and demolition waste consisted of soil and stones in 2024.[60]
  • 35% of Germany’s total construction waste was used as recycled construction material, according to the National Circular Economy Strategy.[61]
  • Nearly 100% of Ireland’s construction and demolition metal waste was recycled in 2024.[60]

Carbon footprint in the building industry

  • 5.4% was the increase in building-operations CO2 emissions since 2015, according to the global sector assessment.[55]
  • 4.1 billion tonnes of CO2 were emitted by cement production globally in 2022.[62]
  • 34% of global CO2 emissions came from buildings in 2023.[55]
  • 18% of buildings-sector CO2 emissions were linked to cement and steel materials in 2023.[55]

15 Statistics

Globalization & Expansion

International exposure is high among large builders; almost one-quarter of top 30 global construction companies’ total sales came from international markets in 2025.

Globalization in the building industry

  • Almost one-quarter of the top 30 global construction companies’ total sales came from international markets in 2025, up from 21.3% in 2024.[11]
  • 67% of European companies in Deloitte’s 2025 top construction-company group’s aggregate revenues were generated outside their home countries.[11]
  • 91.8% of ACS Group’s 2025 sales were international, the highest share among the top 30 global construction companies.[72]
  • 77.7% of Acciona’s 2025 sales were international.[72]
  • 86.6% of STRABAG’s 2025 sales were generated outside Austria.[72]

Supplier management in the building industry

  • 73% of U.S. builders primarily purchased windows and doors directly in 2026.[73]
  • 48% of U.S. builders primarily purchased flooring directly in 2026.[73]
  • 61% of U.S. subcontractors sought new suppliers because of material-procurement challenges in 2024.[74]
  • 71% of U.S. builders primarily purchased fixtures and finishes directly in 2026.[73]
  • 82% of U.S. builders primarily purchased lumber and framing directly rather than through subcontractors in 2026.[73]

Distribution channels in the building industry

  • Home Depot agreed to acquire building-products distributor GMS for approximately $4.3 billion in 2025.[75]
  • Home Depot agreed to acquire SRS Distribution for approximately $18.25 billion including debt in 2024, expanding its professional-contractor distribution channel.[75]

16 Statistics

Regional markets

Sun Belt and growth pockets remain notable in permitting and activity; Texas accounted for 15% of U.S. permitted housing units in 2025.

The building industry in Australia

  • $191.8 billion was the Australian construction industry’s industry value added in 2024–25, up 7.9% from the previous financial year.[76]
  • 1.313 million people were employed in Australia’s construction industry at the end of June 2025, an increase of 1.3% over the year.[76]
  • 45.8 billion dollars was the seasonally adjusted value of building work done in Australia in the June quarter of 2026, up 1.3% from the March quarter.[76]
  • $633.6 billion was total income generated by Australia’s construction industry in 2023–24.[76]
  • $130.8 billion was contracting income in Australia’s building-construction subdivision in 2023–24.[76]

The building industry in Western Australia

  • $30.664 billion was the value of engineering construction in Western Australia in 2023–24.[77]
  • 22,602 new homes were built in Western Australia in 2024–25, an increase of 25.1% from the previous financial year.[77]
  • $47.915 billion was the value of total construction in Western Australia in 2023–24, comprising residential, non-residential and engineering construction.[77]
  • 153,500 workers were employed in Western Australia’s building and construction industry on a four-quarter average from May 2024 to May 2025.[78]

The building industry in Queensland

  • $77 billion is the forecast value of Queensland’s construction pipeline in 2026–27, up from $53 billion in 2024–25.[79]
  • $41.2 billion was Queensland’s construction-industry contribution to state economic output in 2024–25, equal to 8.3% of total output.[80]
  • 280,258 people are projected to be employed in Queensland’s construction industry by 2027–28, including 8,107 additional workers compared with 2023–24.[81]
  • 53,397 people were employed in residential building construction in Queensland in 2024, representing 19.1% of the state construction industry’s workforce.[81]
  • 288,000 people were employed in Queensland’s construction sector in 2025, making it the state’s second-largest employing industry.[80]

The building industry in New South Wales

  • 422,500 people were employed in New South Wales’ construction industry in August 2025, representing 9.4% of state employment.[82]
  • 15,700 additional people were employed in New South Wales construction in the year to August 2025, a 3.9% increase.[82]
  • 419,300 people were employed in New South Wales’ construction industry in February 2026, up 2.4% over five years.[82]
  • 100,000 skilled construction workers are needed in New South Wales to meet projected housing-supply demand.[83]
  • 50% of surveyed New South Wales construction businesses reported attracting and retaining appropriately skilled staff as a main challenge in 2025.[84]

The building industry in New Zealand

  • $1.4 billion of building work was completed in Canterbury in the June 2026 quarter, up 14% from the June 2025 quarter.[85]
  • $3.2 billion of building work was completed in Auckland in the June 2026 quarter, up 3.7% from the June 2025 quarter.[85]
  • $8.2 billion of building work was completed in New Zealand in the June 2026 quarter, up 5.2% from the June 2025 quarter.[85]
  • $692 million of building work was completed in Waikato in the June 2026 quarter, up 12% from the June 2025 quarter.[85]

Key questions about the Building Industry

What is the current U.S. construction market size in 2026?
U.S. construction spending reached $2.186 trillion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in September 2026.
How is construction employment expected to change through 2035?
Bureau of Labor Statistics projections move employment from 8.267 million in 2025 to 8.677 million in 2035, a 5.0% increase.
Which companies lead the building industry?
Saint-Gobain leads Gitnux's 2026 building ranking with an Overall score of 9.3, with operating margin 11.4% in construction materials and building solutions. CRH is the highest-ranked cement and aggregates supplier at 9.2, with operating margin 14.5% across 28 countries for building materials.
What technology shift is visible in construction workflows?
In 2025, 74% of U.S. construction businesses reported using AI regularly in at least some workflow areas.
How concentrated is the building industry’s workforce structure?
In 2025, specialty trade contractors accounted for 5.228 million projected jobs versus 1.855 million in building construction and 1.183 million in heavy and civil engineering.
What are the main compliance constraints affecting contractors?
Construction employers operate under OSHA’s 29 CFR Part 1926 standards, covering site operations, structural work, equipment, hazardous materials, and worker protection.
Reference

Cite This Report

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APA
Megan Gallagher. (2026, February 13). Building Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/building-industry-statistics
MLA
Megan Gallagher. "Building Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/building-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Megan Gallagher. 2026. "Building Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/building-industry-statistics.

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