Data center construction spending surged in July

<div>Data: U.S. Census Bureau, FactSet </div><p>Construction spending on AI <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/08/25/data-centers-ai-electricity-water-politics" target="_blank">data center</a> "shells" soared in July, rising at an annualized rate of nearly 60% from July 2025 levels. </p><p><strong>Why it matters:</strong> It shows the AI building frenzy was gathering strength this summer, even as — or perhaps because — a <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/08/19/data-centers-ai-political-opinio

Original reporting by Axios · Matt Phillips. GridIndex is an aggregation and intelligence layer — full credit to the original publisher.