Cushman & Wakefield’s 2022 Americas Office Fit-Out Cost Guide found supply chain constraints and shifting consumer demands will continue to add pressure to costs, both in materials and labor.
Increases in construction and customer demand for durable and non-durable goods have driven supply chain disruptions over the past two years. COVID-19 outbreaks and labor shortages have also wreaked havoc through ports and on trucking, transportation, and distribution capacities. The supply chain stress indices for both China and the U.S. ended 2021 up over 40% from pre-pandemic levels.
For office construction and fit-outs, these stressors have created increased delays, greater uncertainty, and higher costs. There appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel, though,
as the supplier delivery index that measures manufacturer delays has been receding
since the middle of 2021, the report says.
The waning of the pandemic may add more fuel to cost pressures, however, as office tenants are targeting the first half of 2022 for employees to return to a more standard office attendance model. “As office space usage increases, we expect organizations will expand their piloting and testing of different types of layouts related to hybrid work,” the report says. “This is likely to increase the amount of fit-out and office space construction activity in the coming quarters, creating even more demand for materials and labor.”
Related Stories
| Oct 25, 2012
Nashville providing incentives for green roofs
The city of Nashville, Tenn., is promoting the installation of green roofs through a measure providing a $10 reduction in a property's sewer fees for every square foot of vegetative roof.
| Oct 25, 2012
Net Zero buildings will use operating systems like computers to save energy
As buildings become more efficient and begin to use distributed electricity generation, they will need to become “smarter,” using operating systems much as a computer does.
| Oct 18, 2012
Princeton, N.J. residents upset over proposal to exempt colleges from land use laws
Princeton, N.J. residents criticized proposed legislation that would exempt private colleges and universities from following local land use laws for construction projects.
| Oct 18, 2012
Utah contracting firm challenges state immigration law
Universal Contracting LLC of American Fork, Utah, has filed suit challenging the constitutionality of Utah’s 2011 immigration law.
| Oct 18, 2012
More than 65,000 construction, design jobs may be cut if sequestration takes place
About $2 billion worth of construction and design projects would be eliminated if scheduled federal budget cuts, referred to as sequestration, take effect on Jan. 2, 2013.
| Oct 18, 2012
OSHA investigating parking garage collapse that kills four at Doral, Fla. college
OSHA is investigating the collapse of a five-story concrete parking garage under construction at Miami Dade College West Campus in Doral, Fla. that killed four workers and injured several others.
| Oct 18, 2012
EPA commercial building lead paint rule pushed back to 2015
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's inclusion of commercial buildings in a residential lead paint rule is being delayed until 2015.
| Oct 18, 2012
Chicago pushing green roofs to reduce heat island effect
The city of Chicago has mandated that all new buildings that require any public funds must be LEED certified, usually with a green roof.
