On October 7, Anirban Basu presented his third-quarter construction economic update, highlighting a few notable shifts in the industry. While it remains consistent that data center projects are supporting the construction economy, Midwest reindustrialization proves a surprising area of development; and although the Fed just raised interest for the first time since July 2023, Basu is confident the American economy is only getting stronger.
Review the latest poll results, important outtakes and Q&A summary below.
POLLS
Backlog and profit margins hold steady, while supply chain and financing overtake the workforce shortage for leading challenges.
| Which of these is the leading challenge for your company today? | October 2026 | July 2026 |
| Supply chain and/or materials issues | 15% | 9% |
| Skills / worker shortage | 33 | 52 |
| Insufficient demand for construction services | 26 | 19 |
| Availability of financing for projects/project work | 17 | 13 |
| None of the above | 8 | 6 |
| Over the last three months, how has your company’s backlog fared? | October 2026 | July 2026 |
| It has risen considerably | 15% | 19% |
| It has risen slightly | 33 | 32 |
| It has remained about the same | 26 | 26 |
| It has declined slightly | 17 | 17 |
| It has declined considerably | 8 | 6 |
| Where do you expect your company’s profit margins to be a year from now? | October 2026 | July 2026 |
| Substantially higher | 4% | 4% |
| Slightly higher | 30 | 29 |
| About the same | 34 | 42 |
| Slightly lower | 26 | 23 |
| Substantially lower | 6 | 3 |
QUOTES
So much has changed in roughly the last 60 days. 3:00
Things have become extreme; parts of the economy that are doing well are doing better now; parts that were challenged are even more challenged. 3:00
The two segments that really stand out: spending on data centers, computer chips, etc. and spending on services. Who spends on services? The wealthy. Those are among the two segments driving GDP forward. 6:00
That’s roughly a 70-basis-point increase in interest rates over two months. 7:50
This is the highest [interest rate] since 2023. 8:15
Inflation has become even hotter; interest rates have risen even further. 8:20
You’re going to see a lot more supply response to address our deficits [in terms of energy needs for data center development]. 16:13
One in six contractors is working on a data center project. 16:38
Third quarter earnings are expected to be 25% greater than the third quarter of last year, and last year was fabulous. 17:40
At the same time we have this phenomenal wealth creation, we have a lot of people who are upset. 19:30
Job growth has become more erratic. 19:45
Construction is adding jobs. 22:05
Why is the Midwest [one of the top regions for construction employment growth]? America is redindustrializing. 31:00
It’s going to become more competitive; there are fewer projects to compete for. 35:00
America remains the envy of the advanced world in terms of economic growth. 50:10
Q&A
Questions ranged from materials price escalation to data center financial sustainability to midterm election outcome effects on the industry. Watch the full Q&A here.
SEE ALSO: ‘PEOPLE LOVE TEXAS’: ANIRBAN BASU SHARES NEW DATA IN 2026 MID-YEAR ECONOMIC FORECAST
