Japan's construction orders rose 2.3% year on year in June, rebounding from a 6.7% decline

Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism reported on Friday, 31 July 2026, that the value of the country's construction orders rose 2.3% in June 2026 from June a year earlier. The index fell 6.7% in May, and the Trading Economics forecast for June was a 7% decline, so the reading came in appreciably better than expected.

Japan's construction orders growth has averaged 2.95% since 1985, with an all time high of 104.9% in April 2014 and a record low of minus 42.8% in July 2009. Japanese housing data published the same day showed housing starts rose 18.6% year on year in June.

Construction orders are a leading indicator of demand for steel, cement and building materials, and their rebound in the world's third largest economy bears on regional demand for those commodities, which matters to steel and mining product exporters across Asia.