“Factory construction is up by 41 percent under my administration.”

World Economic Forum address in Davos and February 2026 WSJ op-ed

Factory construction has gone DOWN under Trump, not up. U.S. Census Bureau data show manufacturing construction spending fell from $237.5 billion (annual rate) in January 2025 to $181.8 billion in December 2025, and it declined for 11 consecutive months through December 2025.

The 41% figure depends entirely on the boom under Joe Biden. It sets 2025 spending against the average of Biden's four years, during which manufacturing construction spending surged from about $76 billion in January 2021 to about $242 billion in December 2024, fueled by CHIPS Act megaprojects. Even on that basis current Census data put the gap at about 32%, not 41%. Trump is taking credit for his predecessor's surge while presiding over a decline.

Industry economists blame Trump's own policies for the slump. Anirban Basu, chief economist of the Associated Builders and Contractors, said manufacturing construction spending "has fallen by nearly 10% over the past 12 months," citing CHIPS Act megaprojects winding down and "the stiff headwind of trade policy" — Trump's tariffs driving up construction materials costs. The American Institute of Architects forecasts further declines of about 4% in 2026 and 1% in 2027.

"What we can say is that factory construction so far has declined under Trump and his claim that it has increased 41% depends on a spending surge that occurred under Biden." — FactCheck.org, Feb. 6, 2026