Construction starts posted a headline-grabbing gain in October, but the underlying market looks far less robust. Total construction starts climbed 21.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.53 trillion, according to Dodge Construction Network—even as residential activity slid and much of the month’s growth flowed from nonbuilding work and a small cluster of ultra-high-value projects.

For roofing contractors and suppliers, that split matters: demand tends to follow building square footage and project mix more than dollar volume. Dodge reported nonresidential building starts rose 17.9%. In comparison, residential starts fell 15.4%, and noted that in square-footage terms, combined nonresidential and residential starts declined 4.3% in October and are down 5.4% year-to-date—signaling that megaproject-driven totals may not translate into broad-based roofing volume as 2025 winds down.

Dodge attributed much of October’s strength to a wave of megaprojects. “Growth in construction starts continued to be propped up by high-value megaproject activity last month,” said Sarah Martin, associate director of forecasting at Dodge Construction Network.

Martin noted that 10 projects valued at $1 billion or more broke ground, with the majority concentrated in data centers, manufacturing, and LNG.

“Outside of these high-tech buildings, however, growth appears more moderate,” she added, pointing out that in square-footage terms, combined nonresidential and residential starts fell 4.3% in October and are down 5.4% year-to-date.

On a year-to-date basis through October, Dodge reported total construction starts are up 5.9% versus the same period last year, with nonresidential starts up 5.6%, residential down 5.1%, and nonbuilding up 19.8%. Looking at the 12 months ending October 2025, Dodge said total starts rose 8.1% compared with the prior 12-month period, as nonbuilding starts increased 22.9% and nonresidential starts rose 7.5%, while residential starts declined 3.1%.

Regionally, Dodge reported total construction starts rose in October in the South Central (+84.9%), Midwest (+18.8%), South Atlantic (+8.7%), and West (+1.1%), while the Northeast fell 40.1% month over month.

Nonbuilding: Utilities Drive the Jump

Dodge reported nonbuilding construction starts surged 59.4% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $645 billion, led by a sharp increase in utilities activity (+384.5% month over month). Dodge also recorded gains in environmental public works (+18.6%) and miscellaneous nonbuilding (+10.1%), while highway and bridge starts fell 23.7%.

Among the largest nonbuilding projects Dodge said broke ground in October were the $15.1 billion Calcasieu Pass LNG Export Terminal and Pipeline in Louisiana, the $9 billion Rio Grande LNG Facility Phase 2 in Texas, and the $5.9 billion Frederick Douglass Tunnel Improvement in Maryland.

Dodge said nonresidential building starts increased 17.9% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $561 billion. Within that category, commercial starts rose 19.5%, driven by gains in offices and data centers (+45.5%) and retail stores (+15.1%), while hotels (-19.3%), warehouses (-1.7%), and parking garages (-46.1%) declined. Institutional starts rose 3.7%, supported by other institutional categories (+49.5%), though offset by weaker education (-20.8%) and healthcare (-2.7%). Dodge also characterized manufacturing as volatile, reporting a 107.2% increase in October.

Dodge listed the largest nonresidential projects starting in October as the $7.5 billion Meta Hyperion Data Center (Louisiana), the $1.9 billion expansion to the LA Convention Center in California, and the $1.7 billion Eli Lilly manufacturing facility in Indiana.

Residential: Single-Family up Slightly; Multifamily Falls Sharply

Dodge reported residential building starts fell 15.4% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $323 billion. Dodge’s breakdown showed single-family starts edged up 2.2%, while multifamily starts dropped 38.5%. Year-to-date through October, Dodge said residential starts are down 5.1%, with single-family down 12.3% and multifamily up 10.6%. Employment: Openings and Hiring Trends Weaken

The labor picture is also softening. Construction job openings totaled 213,000 at the end of October, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. ABC reported openings were down 18,000 from September and 36,000 from the same month a year earlier. ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu said the data suggest the industry has been in contraction for much of 2025, citing weaker hiring momentum.