Dodge Construction Network

Construction Starts Rebound 13% in March

Total construction starts rose 12.8% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.22 trillion, according to Dodge Construction Network. Nonresidential building starts grew by 6.3%, residential starts improved 2.6%, and nonbuilding starts rebounded 37.9% over the month. On a year-to-date basis, total construction starts were down 0.5% through March. For the 12 months ending March 2026, total construction starts were up 5.4% from the 12 months ending March 2025.

Continue Reading on Dodge Construction Network
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

U.S. Department of Labor Updates National Emphasis Program to Protect Workers from Indoor, Outdoor Heat Hazards

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration updated its National Emphasis Program that protects workers from outdoor and indoor heat-related hazards to direct agency resources where they can make the biggest impact – focusing inspections and outreach in industries and workplaces where heat stress risks are most likely to occur.

Originally issued in April 2022, the revised National Emphasis Program – Outdoor and Indoor Heat-Related Hazards uses OSHA and the Bureau of Labor Statistics data from calendar years 2022-2025 to direct inspection priorities to 55 high-risk industries in indoor and outdoor work settings.

Continue Reading on Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Construction Dive

Construction’s Economic Outlook is Increasingly Cloudy

While construction’s latest economic data showed higher backlog and starts numbers, the primary driver of that growth has been data center projects. Those projects raged on despite higher input prices.

But planning activity mostly slipped for other builds and hiring among construction firms slowed to start the year too.

From those results, a consensus has emerged: Take away the artificial intelligence buildout, and construction’s economic outlook appears weaker. That’s the view from economists summing up the sector’s prospects with one quarter of 2026 in the rear view.

Continue Reading on Construction Dive