Rising Nonresidential Construction Index comes with struggles, FMI reports

The Nonresidential Construction Index from FMI rose two points in Q1. This normally is a positive economic sign. However, construction companies are facing the challenge of having enough people to keep up with increasing backlogs, warns Phil Warner, researcher for FMI.

The engineering and construction executives that comprise the NRCI panel are strongly optimistic about both the economy and their businesses. The diffusion indexes for the overall economy and the geographic economies where individual panelists do business rose more than six points, reaching 78.

The report discusses owners’ views on expectations for 2015 construction put in place, top business challenges for 2015, and employment trends. Lack of a skilled workforce was among the top concerns. Other comments express some political angst.

One panelist expressed, “Need a federal highway bill!” While another panelist said, “Another challenge is the increasing regulatory burdens placed on our clients and in turn our business. Some projects are taking almost two years to clear local planning hurdles. By the time the project is approved, budgets are obsolete, and the project may not be feasible.”

Read the FMI report.

The number of considerations that go into starting a construction project are almost too numerous to count. Contracts, materials, labor, deadlines, even weather, to name a few. They vary from project to project, and any one of them can change in an instant, whether it be materials suddenly in short supply, labor that isn’t available for your particular kind of project (is it luxury hospitality or affordable residential?), or an unexpected phenomenon like Covid-19 that makes everything suddenly screech to a halt.

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Fire safety considerations for cantilevered buildings

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Rental property owners want access to utility usage data for whole properties

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In dire need of affordable housing, Aspen, Colo. will get a development that provides 277 affordable homes

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California regulators move to ban gas heaters for existing buildings

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