Commercial Equipment Rental and Leasing NAICS 5324

Dec 4, 2025 - Megaprojects Boost Construction Starts

• Megaprojects drove substantial gains for the total value of construction starts in October compared to September, according to Dodge Construction Network. Nonbuilding construction starts jumped 59.4% in October, led by a 384.5% surge in utilities and an 18.6% rise in environmental public works. Highway and bridge starts were down 23.7%. Nonresidential building construction starts increased 17.9% in October compared to the previous month, amid a 19.5% rise in commercial starts, led by data centers (+45.5%) and retail stores (+15.1%). Institutional starts grew 3.7% due to project categories other than education and healthcare, which saw starts fall 20.8% and 2.7%, respectively. Residential starts dropped 15.4% in October, with single-family starts down 2.2% and multifamily starts down 38.5%. Dodge said 10 projects valued at $1 billion or more broke ground in October, primarily in data centers, manufacturing, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities.
• Construction firms that work on civil infrastructure projects are holding steady as they manage uncertainties, including waning backlog growth and stagnant margins, according to FMI’s fourth-quarter Civil Infrastructure Construction Index (CICI) survey. The CICI reading for the third quarter was 50.6 compared to 50.8 in Q3 2025 – on a 100-point scale. Any CICI reading above 50 indicates that more civil infrastructure contractors see conditions as good than poor. About half of civil infrastructure contractors reported that their backlogs in Q4 met or exceeded their targets. However, most noted that public projects are making up a growing share of overall backlogs, as private-sector projects face greater uncertainty. Contractors expect backlog growth to slow over the next few quarters as more firms vie for a narrower set of public projects. Contractor margins remained steady but flat in Q4 2025 as bid competition and rising cost pressures eroded pricing power.

• The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s (ELFA) Monthly CapEx Finance Index (CFI) showed new business volume was valued at $10.5 billion in October 2025, flat from the month before. On a year-over-year basis, new business volumes increased 5.7% in October. New business volume declined 1.4% in the first 10 months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. ELFA CEO and President Leigh Lytle said, "Equipment demand was unfazed by the government shutdown in October. The latest data showed businesses continue to invest despite a volatile and unpredictable fall. At the current pace, 2025 will end up as the second-best year for equipment demand in the history of our CFI survey, which goes back to 2006. We’re going to see momentum really build as we put the government shutdown further in the rearview. The path for interest rates remains uncertain, but that doesn’t change the fact that our industry is financially healthy, setting us up for a strong start to 2026."
• US manufacturing activity contracted in November 2025 for the ninth consecutive month, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). The ISM’s Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) in November fell to 48.2% from a reading of 48.7% in October. A reading above 50% indicates manufacturing expansion. November's New Orders Index decreased by two percentage points to 47.4%. The August Production Index rose 3.2 percentage points to 51.4%. Several individual respondents to the ISM survey suggested that demand in the factory sector is being affected by economic uncertainty caused by the unpredictable nature of US tariff policy. Manufacturing activity is a demand driver for commercial equipment rentals.