The manufacturing sector produced healthy growth on the year, driven heavily by spending in the semiconductor industry, but recent gains were harder to come by. Just a 0.5 percent increase was evident on the quarter in Q4 2024 as previously high investment levels wind down. Some policymakers have speculated that Trump’s tariff implementation could result in increased domestic production, but historical precedent challenges that point of view. The current administration has also paused certain Biden-era funding measures, potentially limiting infrastructure spending unless policy direction changes.

Office spending has strengthened of late, increasing by 2.7 and 3.2 percent on the quarter and year, respectively, in Q4 2024. Data center construction has led the way here, surging by 11.8 percent on the quarter and by 46.0 percent on the year. Supply is struggling to match demand, as competition for land and the natural resource requirements specific to data centers, intensifies. As a result, demand is likely to persist in lockstep with growing cost pressures. While the traditional office is experiencing some positive tailwinds – encouraging return-to-office figures and improved occupancy rates - property fundamentals still constrain investment appetites. Vacancy rates remain high and office-using job growth has been underwhelming.