The trade brief - 22 August 2026. Today's edition covers the Canada 50% tariff now live on building materials, lumber sliding below $580/MBF, a $264M Navy nuclear training contract in South Carolina, record U.S. data center starts, and a UK contract awards surge. 22 Aug · 04:05 Today's edition covers the Canada 50% tariff that took effect this morning on a broad range of building materials, lumber prices sliding to a fresh low on weak housing demand, a $264 million Navy construction award in South Carolina, the extraordinary pace of U.S. data center construction starts, and a sharp rebound in UK contract awards driven by the New Hospital Programme. Canada's 50% tariff on building materials is now in effect across the U.S., covering cement, plywood, paint, and fiber cable among other inputs. The duties, which took effect 22 August 2026, apply to a specific list of Canadian goods including cement, paint, plywood, and fiber cable[[1]], adding directly to the cost base of contractors who have not yet locked in supply agreements or secured exemptions. Procurement teams should audit Canadian-sourced line items immediately; the tariff applies at the border and cannot be reclaimed after the fact. Lumber prices fell below $580 per thousand board feet this week as tariff uncertainty and a weakening housing market combined to suppress demand. U.S. housing starts fell 12.4% in July, with single-family construction dropping to its lowest level since late 2022, pulling lumber-intensive residential work down with it. Construction spending on lumber-intensive single-family housing fell 3.3% year-on-year in June, and Canada's negotiators remain at odds with Washington over softwood lumber terms, with Ottawa continuing to push for zero tariffs. The near-term read for framers and lumber buyers: supply is available but the demand signal is weak, and any trade resolution could move prices quickly in either direction. HITT Contracting has been awarded a $264 million Navy construction contract to expand the P200 nuclear power training simulator facility at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina. The fixed-price award-fee contract, announced 20 August 2026, carries a base value of $264,031,732 and includes 12 unexercised options that could raise the cumulative value to $274.3 million. Work is expected to be completed by April 2030, with the first fiscal 2026 MILCON obligation set at $55.1 million. The project expands the facility that trains roughly half of all U.S. Navy nuclear reactor operators; construction is expected to begin in Q4 2026. For specialty subcontractors in the Carolinas, this is a multi-year pipeline with significant electrical, mechanical, and simulation-systems scope. U.S. data center construction starts totalled $22.3 billion in June 2026, the second-highest monthly figure on record, and year-to-date spending has already surpassed the full-year 2025 total. Year-to-date starts through June reached $81.5 billion, exceeding 2025's full-year total of $72.5 billion and running more than three times the 2024 full-year figure. The year-to-date 2026 median construction cost for data centers stands at $570 per square foot, with the average at $859. Data centers now account for roughly 80% of the U.S. Offices construction category, according to ConstructConnect's August brief, meaning the sector is effectively driving the entire nonresidential building market. Contractors without data center experience or relationships are increasingly locked out of the largest nonresidential opportunities. UK construction contract awards surged 169% year-on-year in the three months to the end of July 2026, with the New Hospital Programme accounting for much of the jump. Glenigan's August Construction Review found £33.1 billion worth of projects were awarded in the period, with major contract awards - those worth at least £100 million - rising 434% against the same period in 2025. Eleven hospital contracts were awarded in the quarter, with healthcare awards rocketing more than 600% and education-sector signings trebling. Civil engineering also performed strongly, with project starts up 171% year-on-year and main contract awards up 85%, led by roads and ports work in the South East. The caveat: detailed planning approvals fell 37% against 2025 levels, suggesting the pipeline behind the current awards wave is thinner than the headline numbers imply.

Jeremy Bardin assembles QII development leadership team; names Mark Rainey EVP of development services. Veteran builder brings hands-on delivery experience across hyperscale, advanced manufacturing, and energy-intensive facilities OVERLAND PARK, Kan., June 11, 2026 - QII, an Infratech Intelligence(TM) company developing energy-ready infrastructure for AI factories, advanced manufacturing, and other energy-intensive operations, today announced that Mark Rainey has joined the company as executive vice president of development services. Jeremy Bardin, a QII advisory board member and former co-president of HITT Contracting, is helping build the development and delivery team that will support QII's growth and future projects. Rainey will help guide execution efforts across the company's development activities, working closely with Eric Hanson, vice president of construction and development services. "Great infratech depends on people who know how to get hard things done," said Chad Williams, chairman and CEO of QII. "Mark is a builder. He has delivered complex projects for hyperscale customers, advanced manufacturing facilities, and other energy-intensive operations, so he understands the realities that shape successful execution at scale. That practical experience, leadership, and judgment are exactly what this work requires." Rainey comes to QII from Hourigan, where he led mission-critical construction projects and helped build the firm's data center practice. Before that, he spent more than nine years at HITT Contracting delivering hyperscale data center campuses, ultimately serving as project executive and leading one of HITT's largest hyperscale accounts. His experience managing projects from planning and development through commissioning and operational readiness will help strengthen QII's distinctive Option-Preserving Platform(TM), designed to maintain flexibility as customer requirements change. "I am building this team around operators who have taken projects all the way from planning and construction through commissioning and production-ready operations," said Bardin. "Mark has done that for major customers in demanding environments where execution matters. He understands what it takes to deliver safely, meet expectations, and keep complex projects moving. That is the standard we are setting at QII." QII's Option-Preserving Platform(TM) brings together energy readiness, capital, development expertise, and project execution under a coordinated approach that helps projects maintain flexibility as customer requirements are defined. "Planning matters, but the real test is making sure the plan still works when conditions change," said Rainey. "QII brings the right disciplines together so teams can make informed decisions as requirements become clear. That flexibility is increasingly important for projects supporting AI, advanced manufacturing, and other energy-intensive operations." Hanson leads construction and development services across QII's development efforts. He brings more than a decade of digital infrastructure experience, including leadership roles at QTS Data Centers and STACK Infrastructure. Before digital infrastructure, he worked in civil construction and as a wildland firefighter, a background that still shapes how he leads in the field. "Eric and Jeremy are two of the strongest people I could ask to work alongside as QII moves toward delivery," said Rainey. "We are proven leaders who have built at scale and understand the expectations, teamwork, and standards required to get the work done safely and on time. That kind of alignment is rare, but essential to meeting the demands of today's and tomorrow's AI, advanced manufacturing, and energy-intensive infrastructure projects."

HITT Selected by NASA for Johnson Space Center Infrastructure Contract You might be interested in... The HITT Experience