Construction economists optimistic about 2014 growth

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Chief Economist Anirban Basu, American Institute of Architects (AIA) Chief Economist Kermit Baker and National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Chief Economist David Crowe provided a collaborative economic forecast combining their expert economic analysis on leading, present and lagging economic indicators.

"A combination of low interest rates; wealth effects stemming from a booming stock market and rising home prices; surging energy production; and expanding industrial output has helped position the U.S. economy for more rapid growth during the next several quarters," said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. "This will lead to more robust recovery in the U.S. nonresidential construction industry, which has also been aided by stable materials prices and improving commercial real estate fundamentals. ABC predicts 7 percent nominal nonresidential construction growth in 2014, despite ongoing challenges in the public construction segment."

"We continue to have an optimistic outlook for the commercial and industrial sectors for the rest of this year and into 2015," said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA. "However, until we see state and local governments ramp up spending for new education, health care and public safety structures there likely won’t be a widespread acceleration in spending for the entire industry."

"Economic pick-up in the second quarter was coupled with a return in housing construction," said David Crowe, chief economist for NAHB. "We expect continued modest growth in housing construction as employment rises and more household formations take place. However, continued tight supplies of labor and land will put upward pressure on new home prices."

In addition to this forecast, AIA released its latest Architecture Billings Index (ABI) July 23, NAHB released its latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) July 16 and ABC’s quarterly Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI) will be released Aug. 19.

In 2021, Gilbane Building Company and Nextera Robotics partnered in a joint venture to develop an artificial intelligence platform utilizing a fleet of autonomous mobile robots. The platform, dubbed Didge, is designed to automate construction management, maximize reliability and safety, and minimize operational costs. This was just one of myriad examples over the past 18 months of contractor giants turning to construction technology (ConTech) to gather jobsite data, manage workers and equipment, and smooth the construction process.

LMN Architects designed the mass timber Michael G. Foster School of Business Founders Hall at the University of Washington

University Buildings | Nov 13, 2022

University of Washington opens mass timber business school building

Founders Hall at the University of Washington Foster School of Business, the first mass timber building at Seattle campus of Univ. of Washington, was recently completed. The 84,800-sf building creates a new hub for community, entrepreneurship, and innovation, according the project’s design architect LMN Architects.

Top 50 Data Center Construction Firms for 2022

Giants 400 | Nov 9, 2022

Top 50 Data Center Contractors + CM Firms for 2022

Holder, Turner, DPR, and HITT Contracting head the ranking of the nation's largest data center contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.

Top 75 Sports Facility Engineering and EA Firms for 2022 chris-chow-yPgmYU1aZvE-unsplash

Giants 400 | Nov 8, 2022

Top 110 Sports Facility Architecture and AE Firms for 2022

Populous, HOK, Gensler, and Perkins and Will top the ranking of the nation's largest sports facility architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.

Giants 400 | Nov 8, 2022

Top 60 Sports Facility Contractors and CM Firms for 2022

AECOM, Mortenson, Clark Group, and Turner Construction top the ranking of the nation's largest sports facility contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.

More cities track the performance of buildings as a way to lower their carbon emissions.

Industry Research | Nov 8, 2022

U.S. metros take the lead in decarbonizing their built environments

A new JLL report evaluates the goals and actions of 18 cities.

Hotel designs feel more like homes these days Hotel design trends for 2022 *Lake_Nona_Town_Center_Wave_Hotel

Hotel Facilities | Nov 8, 2022

6 hotel design trends for 2022-2023

Personalization of the hotel guest experience shapes new construction and renovation, say architects and construction experts in this sector.

Green | Nov 8, 2022

USGBC and IWBI will develop dual certification pathways for LEED and WELL

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) will expand their strategic partnership to develop dual certification pathways for LEED and WELL.

Reconstruction & Renovation | Nov 8, 2022

Renovation work outpaces new construction for first time in two decades

Renovations of older buildings in U.S. cities recently hit a record high as reflected in architecture firm billings, according to the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

Currently Reading

Construction economists optimistic about 2014 growth

Tags

Giants 400 | Nov 14, 2022

Contractors | Nov 14, 2022

University Buildings | Nov 13, 2022

Giants 400 | Nov 9, 2022

Giants 400 | Nov 8, 2022

Giants 400 | Nov 8, 2022

Industry Research | Nov 8, 2022

Hotel Facilities | Nov 8, 2022

Green | Nov 8, 2022

Reconstruction & Renovation | Nov 8, 2022

Most Popular Content

Magazine Subscription

Get our Newsletters

Follow BD+C: