Data centers and their infrastructure are the new priority for US builders, as focus shifts away from sustainable energy initiatives, a Deloitte report has claimed.

Deloitte said that, by July 2025, total construction spending had declined almost three percent year-over-year, but investment in structures will pivot to a “modest growth” of 1.8 percent in 2026, driven in part by AI-related data center spending.

According to the report, large engineering and construction (E&C) firms are “reassessing their project portfolios to align with these new priorities, investing in capabilities to compete for mega-projects such as data centers and advanced energy facilities.”

Deloitte said these companies were also looking to strengthen partnerships around emerging power-generation and cooling technologies as they work with hyperscalers and data center developers.

“While overall commercial construction activity has slowed for much of 2025, data centers and energy infrastructure have surged,” the report said. “This boom is fueled by the rapid adoption of AI, increased demand for cloud services, and the exponential rise in energy needs for data centers.”

A separate Deloitte report, released earlier this year, predicted that data center power demand could soar to 176GW in 2035 – a five times increase from 33GW in 2024. AI data centers will account for the majority of the increased demand, growing 30 times, from 4GW in 2024 to 123GW in 2035.

However, US infrastructure faces significant constraints in meeting this demand. Grid capacity, supply chain disruptions, and workforce constraints are just a few of the challenges facing projected growth.

Tariffs on materials have hit construction projects hard, and while AI data center projects are expected to provide significant momentum to the E&C industry, they will face the same issues.

In June, the US government increased tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50 percent, with the effective tariff rate for construction goods hitting 25 to 30 percent – a 40-year high in 2025, according to Deloitte.

US firms are adapting by increasing on-shore manufacturing, but activity remains subdued in the traditional construction mainstays. Despite this, digital transformation projects are driving renewed confidence in the industry.

“Looking ahead to 2026, the outlook for commercial construction activity is cautiously optimistic, with data center and energy infrastructure expansion providing continued momentum,” Deloitte said. “Although the E&C industry has historically been conservative in adopting new digital technologies, AI is expected to drive a profound transformation over the next few years. This shift will redefine how work is delivered, moving from a labor-intensive, fragmented industry to a digitally enabled and augmented ecosystem."