Data centres are holding up a softening US construction market, Eurozone activity contracts sharply as energy costs spiral, and new research confirms the industry is spending more on tech while coordination failures keep climbing. Plus, Carl McFarland of Big-D Construction on why the biggest mistake a construction exec can make right now is assuming the business model stays the same.

The Q1 2026 picture for US construction is two-speed. Hyperscalers are still pouring billions into infrastructure and that demand is masking real pain elsewhere — rising material costs, tightening labour, declining residential activity. ABC's chief economist noted that construction input prices have risen 45% since pre-COVID, with tariffs making it worse. The data centre boom is real. But it's carrying a lot of weight. → Full story on ENR

Revizto surveyed 2,000 AEC professionals across 8 global markets and the findings are uncomfortable: rework is still rampant, poor coordination has climbed to the number three cause, and nearly half of respondents report software costs up by as much as 10% in the last year. The firms pulling ahead aren't spending more — they're simplifying their stacks and upskilling existing staff. Worth a download. → Access the Bridging the Gap 2026 report

The HCOB Eurozone Construction PMI fell to 44.6 in March — the sharpest decline in five months — driven by surging energy prices linked to Middle East conflict. New order intakes dropped at their steepest since October, job shedding accelerated, and business confidence turned negative across Germany, France, and Italy simultaneously for the first time since August 2022. For European contractors, the margin squeeze is getting worse before it gets better. → Full PMI breakdown on ConstructUK

We sat down with Carl McFarland, President of Big-D Construction Southwest, for a conversation on AI, business model disruption, and what it actually takes to lead through a transformation. This exchange stood out:

Carl's Blockbuster analogy hit differently. His point: the industry's most profitable firms, especially those riding the AI infrastructure wave, are the ones most at risk of not seeing the shift coming. When margins are at record highs, changing the business model feels unthinkable. But as Carl put it, it's not optional.

→ Listen to the full episode on Spotify

📱 Watch: Someone handed ChatGPT's voice mode a simple test: time a one-mile run. It had no tools to actually do it, confidently made up a time anyway, and Sam Altman was standing right there watching it happen. "That's a known issue. Maybe another year." If you ever want a gut-check on where AI actually is vs. where the hype says it is, this is 60 seconds well spent. Watch here

📖 Read: OpenAI dropped a 13-page policy blueprint this week proposing to redistribute AI gains through robot taxes, a national wealth fund, and 32-hour workweeks at full pay. The company building superintelligence is now publicly calling for taxes on it. Whatever you think of the motives (an $852bn company about to IPO isn't a neutral actor), the questions it raises about labour, productivity, and who captures the gains are coming for every industry, including ours. → Read on TechCrunch

📖 Read: The behaviours that got you promoted, always having the answers, projecting confidence, jumping in with solutions, are often the same ones that start quietly undermining you once you reach the top. A sharp HBR piece on three traps to avoid as you gain more formal power. Lands differently when you're leading through a period of transformation. → Read on HBR

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