Commercial construction is gaining speed heading into 2026, but the road ahead is unpredictable. 

Contractors are being squeezed from all sides with labor shortages, the increasing complexity of work, rising material costs, and fast-changing codes and incentives. Nearly 60% of contractors polled during BuildOps’ 2026 in Focus webinar said they’re feeling all of these pressures at once.

To stay competitive, firms are moving faster and thinking smarter. They’re watching local rules and incentives, training their own crews for what’s coming next, and using tech to keep skilled time focused where it actually matters.

Here’s what it takes to keep up, win more work, and stay profitable in 2026.

1. Turning Knowledge Into an Advantage

In 2026, it pays to know what’s happening in your market. Incentives are changing the way jobs get funded, and the contractors who can work that system are the ones who will be winning the bids.

Across the country, state and utility programs are changing the math on major projects, especially electrification, EV infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing. Jobs that once looked too expensive start penciling out when rebates and grants cover the majority of the cost.

“We've had some projects where we got 70-80% of project costs covered. Not all contractors are familiar with that, so it's allowed us to have that competitive advantage because we had that knowledge,” said David Hinckley Jr., director of EV sales and operations at DMH Electric. 

That can turn a $100,000 project into $20,000 out of pocket, making it a lot easier for the customer to say yes.  

States like Massachusetts are offering full rebates for electrification and EV charging upgrades. In Ohio, Kansas, Virginia, Michigan, and Oklahoma incentives are stacked, like tax credits, payroll rebates, relocation help, and sales tax breaks. 

And in fast-growth states like Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, and Arizona, infrastructure spending and faster permits are kicking project pipelines into high gear.

Contractors who track incentives and policy shifts are landing jobs their competitors can’t. “If you don’t have somebody looking into all of those opportunities for savings for the clients, on the state, regional, and federal levels, you’re playing catch-up,” said Woody Woodall, Principal Owner at Customer Focused Solutions and former National Chairman of MSCA.

2. Upgrading Skills for New Kinds of Work

Jobs today call for new advanced skills. Crews are building out complex cooling systems for data centers and upgrading electrical infrastructure to meet today’s power needs. Fifty percent of electricians say demand for this work is rising, but most of the required skills weren’t covered in training even a decade ago.

Nearly 50% of contractors are building up their own training programs to ensure they don’t miss opportunities. Hinckley learned that lesson the hard way. His team watched the solar boom pass them by. When EV work started picking up, he made a different call. 

“We started with voluntary training,” Hinckley said. “Only two or three guys out of about 60 were interested at first. But we got so busy this year with EV projects we had to get more people involved and make training mandatory.” 

Once his crews got into the work, their perceptions changed. “All of a sudden you’d hear, ‘Wow, this is way more complex than I thought.’ A lot of guys assumed it was just plug-and-play, nothing interesting,” he said. “But once they got into it, it really shifted morale and made people more open to learning new technology.” 

That mindset shift has opened the door for more shared learning on the team. Seasoned techs are showing younger workers how to handle big jobs like wire pulls, while the younger crew is teaching them how to use digital tools to replace old paper-based processes.

When the right job comes along, the team’s already ready. That’s the payoff of putting time into training today.

3. Using Systems and AI to Protect Skilled Time

Labor and material costs are steadily climbing, so contractors need to be laser focused on margins in 2026.

Labor is the biggest expense. Average construction wages are now $62,000, but on data center jobs that climbs to $81,800. Many techs are even earning six figures once overtime and bonuses kick in. That means every hour of skilled labor matters more than ever.

To stay on top of margins, contractors are using software to get more from their teams. According to The Pivot Point: AI and the Future of Commercial Contracting survey, 56% say they’re improving internal processes, and 38% are using AI for tasks like admin and recordkeeping.

Time-saving AI tools are showing up across the industry. Techs use voice-to-text to log job notes that feed directly into invoices. AI drafts reports and emails so teams can review and send faster. Firms sync their scheduling and accounting systems to eliminate repeat data entry. Every minute saved on admin is a minute your top talent can spend doing billable, high-value work.

Still, some contractors are hesitant. There’s real worry that AI might edge out jobs or deskill the workforce. But the reality playing out on job sites is different: these tools are helping teams do more of the work they’re actually trained for. 

Speaking at BuildOps’ Forge 2025 conference, Harvard Business School professor Chris Stanton said, “Most companies are thinking about AI wrong. This isn’t going to be about replacing people…it’s about enhancing productivity.”

4. Operating in a Faster, More Demanding Industry

Megaprojects are setting the pace for 2026. Billion-dollar data centers, EV infrastructure rollouts, and utility-scale energy builds are pushing timelines faster and faster. Clients want everything yesterday, and expectations aren’t slowing down.

Data centers alone drove over 70% of all private nonresidential construction spending growth from March 2024 to March 2025. These jobs move fast and scale big. 

Ben Burgett of Gray Construction, who oversees massive, power-hungry builds across multiple sites, said phased rollouts are being replaced with site-wide blitzes where multiple buildings go up at once and crews run 24/7.

That kind of breakneck pace raises the stakes across the board. While crews are racing to hit deadlines, teams behind the scenes are scrambling to keep up with shifting incentives, evolving codes, and rising customer expectations. It takes dedicated eyes on every front, from policy updates to emerging technology, to keep jobs moving and stay competitive.

“No one person can do it all,” Woodall said. “But you have to have somebody that’s focused on the EPA, somebody that’s focused on local rebates, somebody focused on the latest technology. It’s imperative because things are changing quickly.”

What It’ll Take to Win in 2026

Old playbooks won’t work in 2026. The contractors that come out on top will be the ones that move early on new technologies, make continuous learning a core value, and stay flexible enough to adapt to industry changes.