Global Manufacturing & Supply Chains · Data Insight ·

The Northeast's share of US manufacturing construction fell from 13.1% to 2.9% in four years

From the brief: Real US manufacturing construction spending more than doubled after 2021 and has since fallen by over a third

The Northeast's share of US manufacturing construction spending fell from 13.1% in 20211 to 2.9% in 20251. Spending there fell outright, from US$10.7 billion2 to US$6.1 billion3, while it rose in the other three Census regions.

The figures are the Census Bureau's annual value of private construction put in place at manufacturing sites, in current dollars. Over the same period the West's share rose from 16.8%1 to 25.1%1.

Within regions the shifts were uneven. Spending in the South Atlantic division in 2025 was 5.6 times its 2021 level1, and in the Mountain division 4.8 times1. In the West South Central division, the largest in 2021, spending rose but its share of the national total fell by 8.6 percentage points1.

Our reading, as interpretation rather than finding: over these four years the build-out shifted toward the South Atlantic and Mountain divisions while the Northeast declined.

Two limits. These are estimates from a sample survey, and regional and divisional figures carry more sampling error than national ones. The measure covers buildings and structures and excludes production equipment, so it is not total plant investment. The data show where construction took place, not why.

From Constarium research project CR-MFG-2026-002, US manufacturing construction spending since 2021.

Exhibit 1: The Mountain and South Atlantic divisions gained share; West South Central and the Northeast lost it. Share of US private manufacturing construction put in place by geographic division, %, 2021 and 2025
Data for this exhibit (CSV)

Data

Notes

  1. 1Constarium calculation from U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Value of Private Nonresidential Construction Put in Place by Geographic Division (analysis/regions.sql).
  2. 2U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Value of Private Nonresidential Construction Put in Place by Geographic Division, division.xlsx, Manufacturing block, row 2021, Northeast Total; Constarium calculation from U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Value of Private Nonresidential Construction Put in Place by Geographic Division (analysis/regions.sql).
  3. 3U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Value of Private Nonresidential Construction Put in Place by Geographic Division, division.xlsx, Manufacturing block, row 2025, Northeast Total; Constarium calculation from U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Value of Private Nonresidential Construction Put in Place by Geographic Division (analysis/regions.sql).