Home Depot pros face rising construction costs and tighter schedules

Rising construction costs have pushed more pro customers toward the same three questions on the store floor: what will it cost, what can be swapped, and when can it actually get there. JLL said its July 7 mid-year construction update showed trade policy pressures and geopolitical disruptions lifting costs above earlier forecasts, with more acceleration likely in the second half of 2026.

The sharpest pressure is showing up in data-center markets. JLL said final-cost indices, including contractor margins, were already running roughly 5% year over year, and its January data-center outlook put average global construction cost at $7.7 million per megawatt in 2020, $10.7 million in 2025 and a projected $11.3 million in 2026. The firm also said nearly 100 gigawatts of new data centers are expected to be added from 2026 through 2030, while the global sector could nearly double from 103 GW to 200 GW by 2030.

For contractors, that kind of inflation changes the buying conversation fast. Higher bids and tighter schedules tend to push pros toward cheaper substitutions, smaller scopes and more scrutiny of delivery timing, which is why inventory accuracy, special orders and quick answers from store teams matter more when jobs are moving. The report also pointed to broader labor shortages and energy costs as ongoing pressure points, even outside data-center-heavy markets.

The construction pipeline is still active enough to keep those conversations coming. Associated Builders and Contractors said the industry had 298,000 job openings at the end of May 2026, added 11,000 jobs in June and needed to attract 349,000 net new workers this year to meet demand. That mix of strong demand and cost pressure can make contractors less patient with delays and more likely to ask for alternatives before they commit.

Home Depot has already leaned into that friction. On March 5, the company said it would launch a real-time delivery tracker for big and bulky building-material orders by the end of the first quarter of 2026, giving Pro customers minute-by-minute updates. On March 18, it said it was expanding its Pro digital experience with project management and AI tools for professional renovators, remodelers and builders.

Home Depot also said in May that first-quarter fiscal 2026 sales were $41.8 billion, up 4.8% from a year earlier. That kept pressure on the chain to serve pros who are watching every lead time, every substitution and every extra charge, especially on jobs where a missed delivery can stall an entire crew.