Author: Laura Black
In the last two weeks, this blog has narrowed in on the subcontractor market and the remodeling market, looking at economic and technological trends for each market. Now, let’s look at nonresidential construction. The AGC (Associated General Contractors of America) notes that the price of materials and services in nonresidential construction specifically has increased about 0.5% from March to April, which is the largest increase since January. At the same time, an index that measures bid prices declined 0.3%. All this to say, margins are even tighter than they once used to be. Certainly, material price changes depend on the…
Economic forces, political unrest, labor shortages, supply-chain woes, and so many other factors are having an impact on the construction industry. What do projects look like for the years to come? This week, let’s dig into one specific market: home remodeling. The homebuilding market overall has seen strong growth in the past several years, even amid a pandemic and other disrupting factors, but now it appears growth may begin to stall. The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University releases its LIRA (Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity) quarterly and uncovers declines in the year ahead. In fact, the Joint…
Material and labor costs are rising, rising, rising, and one new report digs into the impact these extra material and labor costs are having on subcontractors, suggesting they bear the brunt of the rising costs to the tune of billions in unplanned expenses. This is according to the third annual report from Billd titled 2023 National Subcontractor Market Report: $97 Billion in Extra Weight on the Shoulders of America’s Subcontractors. The company surveyed about 900 commercial construction professionals across the country. Most were business owners or executives who have been in business for 10 years or longer. This issue of…
Roughly 40-70% of a construction company’s total spending stems from procurement, and new research from McKinsey & Co., reveals many chief procurement officers in the industry believe consistent application of best-in-class procurement practices could lead to up to 12% cost savings. What’s more, procurement will play a pivotal role as construction companies navigate uncertainty and aim for sustainability targets. The insights come from McKinsey’s latest report, The Strategic Era of Procurement in Construction. Taking a closer look at this from a sustainability perspective provides deeper understandings. According to the research, the construction industry is directly and indirectly impacting 25% of global…
Green building is a growing trend, from construction through the lifecycle of a facility. Construction professionals are tasked with pushing the necessary data for certification throughout the entire building process, which can be challenging to say the least. Add into this equation that there is often more than one certification many construction organizations are looking to achieve—and the feat becomes even more difficult. The good news is, now, a new process aims to simplify requirements. Earlier in April, the USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council), GBCI (Green Business Certification Inc.), and the IWBI (Intl. WELL Building Institute) released a streamlined process…
There are myriad factors impacting the construction industry. Everything from the economy to the labor shortage is having an impact on how quickly, efficiently, and effectively work gets done in construction. The last half of 2022 saw declines in material prices, a winding down period of overheated inflation, and overall volatility. Some suggest we began to see the easing of supply chain issues and COVID measures at the end of last year. But what still lurks ahead for construction in 2023? Let’s take a look inside one crystal ball. JLL’s 2023 U.S. and Canada Construction Outlook suggests the construction industry…
Today’s homebuilder needs to craft structures that are sustainable, resilient, and meets the needs of the homeowner. Today’s homebuilder also needs to build homes quickly, with little workforce. Enter prefab housing, offsite manufacturing, and 3D printing, which are slowly starting to become a more viable option for many homebuilders. Consider the example of Mighty Buildings, which is a 3D printing company that is opening a factory to print climate-resilient homes for the U.S. market. A new factory in Monterrey, Mexico, can produce its components for an entire home during each day of operation and is focused on scaling the development…
Money makes the world go round—and it can help get new construction-technology ventures up and off the ground. This has been a growing trend in recent years where investors recognize the value of construction technology, and they are putting their money where their mouth is. There are several different iterations of this. Some construction companies have developed investment wings for their business. For example, since 2019, Suffolk Technologies has backed 24 companies across automation and robotics, supply chain marketplace, sustainability, financial technology, and smart building themes. As another instance, earlier this year, Hensel Phelps announced the launch of Diverge, an…
Smart cities are rising up—and construction companies are going to be tasked with building the city of the future. But often, as contractors know, it can be more nuanced than that, as local governments have regulations and directives for how to fuel smart city growth. Of course, all of this need to be done while keeping citizens’ best interests in mind. So, how exactly will this continue to unfold in the months ahead? A new report from the ITIF (Information Technology and Innovation Foundation) suggests in order to reap the benefits of the smart city, while still maintaining trust with…
We all have heard many of the statistics such as this one: 4,764 workers died on the job in 2020. The good news is worker deaths in America are down—on average, from about 38 worker deaths a day in 1970 to 13 a day in 2020—and worker injuries and illnesses are down from 10.9 incidents per 100 workers in 1972 to 2.7 per 100 in 2020. Still, 4,764 deaths are too many. This is why many companies are turning to technology to create a safer construction jobsite. Consider the example of Brivo, a smart-building tech provider, which has partnered with…