If there was a word for 2025’s concrete contractor industry, “uncertainty” would fit. As more and more data centers are needed, we found a boom in tilt-up and warehouse construction as well as infrastructure work — while other areas experienced some shrinkage.
We connected with a group of insiders from throughout the concrete industry for their point of view on the year’s economic challenges and the effect on contractors.
Overall, there’s an anticipation for the continued demand for infrastructure and commercial construction projects. Yet, contractors will continue to be challenged daily to maximize their workers through the technologies that help them remain productive and minimize downtime, and control costs to maintain their competitive edge.
Despite customers having plenty of work, this year’s dynamic economy has forced contractors into being more conservative with equipment purchases, says Jeff Keeling, vice president of sales and marketing at Brokk Inc. Instead of having the asset on hand for the unknown projects in the future, the project comes first. “They are buying, but only when they absolutely need it to fulfill a contract,” he says.
No matter the year, the big question people have in any discussion on an industry's economic state is if we are 1) in the start of, 2) the middle of, or 3) end of a recession. It’s not that simple.
In his keynote address at the Concrete Foundations Association Convention (July 2025), Dr. Roger Tutterow walked attendees through his look at the construction industry's economic trends over the last few years. “After finishing up last year (2024) up about 2.5 percent in terms of economic output, the first quarter of this year actually saw GDP go down by a half a percent.”
Ever cautious, one quarter doesn’t make a trend. Instead, he spoke about why the downturn occurred: trade. “If you look inside the trade picture, the entire softness of the economy was all over. The international trade side got a surge of imports so high in the first quarter that it caused the net export component of GDP to take nearly 5 percent out of our currency,” he says.
- Quarter one was prior to the threat of tariffs in place. Tutterow pointed out that it was likely that foreign producers tried to push out product before tariffs were set. However, take that surge out and adjust to domestic inventories, quarter one actually had about 2 percent growth.
- Quarter two will likely see GDP growth below 2 percent
“The economy is still expanding…we believe it will expand throughout the balance of 2025 as well. While a risk of recession is elevated, it is not the most likely projector,” Tutterow says. “The most likely trajectory is that the economy continues to expand with the pace of growth of about half of what it was in 2020."
He provided some hope, coupled with the same caution as many of our insiders. Many expect a slow growth for the remainder of the year. “When we look at 2025, we think we do avoid a full-blown recession in the second half of the year. But, we think economic growth is significantly slow and probably will end up with GDP up about 1.2 percent,” says Tutterow.
As a major part of the construction discussion revolves around interest rates, he forecasts that the Fed will likely gradually bring short-term rates down by a half a point, maybe three-quarters, doing so puts the rate back to four, five, or seven.
The Concrete Infrastructure
Insiders tell us that the most growth in the concrete construction industry has been within the infrastructure segment: utility work, road and bridge projects, and repair jobs for municipalities. This is appropriate and encouraging, as the March 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave the country a C for its infrastructure.
The ASCE calls the grade promising. It’s the first time since 1998 that none of the categories in the report were rated D-.
“DOT projects continue. This all equates to roads, bridges, marine, and highway work. Many of these projects create more demand for products from the precast industry,” says Dirk Tharpe, territory sales manager at Oldcastle APG.
He and many others point to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as what spurred this work. “Concrete repair and rehabilitation have seen an uptick in parts of the nation ravaged by natural disasters of late, from record-setting flood damage to forest fires, as they dig out and rebuild,” he says.
Don Weaver, president of Weaver-Bailey Contractors and the 2025 Board of Directors Chairman of the American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA) and Edward Wessel, president/COO of Hi-Way Paving Inc. and second vice chair of the ACPA, tell us a similar story on their concrete pavement side. Weaver says that Weaver-Bailey Contractors are currently well funded, as far as their work in highways, interstate, and airports. Hi-Way Paving works in several states explains Wessel. If it’s evidence of a busy schedule and an active territory, they’ve even widened their footprint.
Additional areas that have had growth in 2025 were renovation and repair of various parts of the concrete infrastructure, as well as data center/warehouse construction. However, we’re told that residential has slowed.
- Renovation/Repair. On their side, Mark Reinhart, vice president of sales and marketing at Cemen Tech, says they saw a lot in curb and sidewalk repair work. “There’s always going to be work in the cities,” he says. Every city has concrete breaking every day.” As Aquajet’s customers are typically involved in the hydrodemolition services for concrete removal, Keith Armishaw, business development manager - North America - at Aquajet, tells us that the energy sector has seen strong investment on the repairing/rehabilitating of existing structures. Some of their customers are working on renovation projects for dams, wind farms, and even repairing the concrete for the wind turbine bases.
- Data Center/Warehouse. Driven by the data center and warehousing construction surge, tilt-up and precast segments have seen notable growth in 2025, says Marianna Kopsida, PhD, industry manager - IMF & vertical construction at Trimble.
- Residential concrete. Residential construction has slowed due to challenging interest rates, the rise in building material costs, and a softening of the housing demand. While there are more track builders active, Tharpe says he’s seen a decline on the custom homes and specialty contractor side, at least for now.
Insiders say that the growth we’re seeing will likely continue — especially with Federal investment in domestic manufacturing and digital infrastructure. Kopsida anticipates that demand of concrete flooring solutions will as companies continue to grow their built-footprint though facilities throughout their supply chains.
Working Through
It’s not the volume of work that has been affected, but the rising costs for construction through insurance, direct labor, and more factors have had more of an impact on project outcomes.
As such, concrete contractors have been prioritizing field productivity and leveraging technology to maximize output with existing resources, says Kopsida. She has recognized trends in investment in robotic layout tools, optimizing project planning, laser scanning system, and in the machine control space.
Likewise, remote-controlled equipment solutions have helped some contractors manage these challenges. For example, Keeling told us of a contractor who had a breakwater demolition job utilizing robotics, which significantly increased productivity and decreased crew needs.
“There’s a strong industry push towards integrated digital workflows and connected construction platforms,” says Kopsida. These types of solutions can help by bridging the gap between design, preconstruction, and field execution. Early adopters have had moderate to high impact from the effort, demonstrating a reduction in errors, streamlining communication, as well as optimizing equipment utilization. The downside is that these technologies require a significant investment and a shift in culture.
Looking at 2026
Insiders are cautious about the remainder of the year. With the flow of federal funds for road, highway, and runway construction, some see a good forecast while others anticipate a slow decline stemming from uncertainty.
However, there’s optimism for 2026 and 2027 as insiders are expecting a steady recovery.
“We anticipate continued reduced circumstances for the remainder of the year, but do hold out hope that with reduced inventories, we may see increased volumes in 2026,” says Peter Bigwood, general manager at Mecalac North America.
