ConstructConnect Blog

U.S. put-in-place construction spending, during the coronavirus health crisis, has benefitted from the carryover of work begun last year. 2019 construction starts included an inordinately large number of mega projects valued at $1 billion or more each. There were 35 such projects last year, with a summed value near $80 billion, or 15% of nonresidential groundbreakings.

With today’s June Employment Situation report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the U.S. economy has now clawed back 29% of the total number of jobs lost in March and April, when shelter-at-home directives were first enacted to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.

As with most things pandemic-related, it’s hard to know where the cost of construction will land six months, or a year, or two years from now. Set out below are 10 ways in which costing in the sector is likely to be impacted in the period ahead.

These days, I’m often asked if I foresee a V-shaped recovery. While there are reasons to suppose it’s possible, I’m skeptical.

The spread of COVID-19 was all about uncertainty and distress. With people being strongly advised to follow social distancing protocols, the government had its focus on controlling the spread of illness by restricting travel and work. And just like any other industry, the construction world is also going through a tremendous struggle in sustaining the project pipeline and workflow.

Lines That Sink, Bob Back up and Soar There are some eye-catching results to be observed from the Census Bureau’s Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services, May 2020 report. After shopkeepers posted terrible results in April, there were some astonishing bounce-backs in May.