Construction + Economy

The outlook for the general economy is improving, but that doesn’t mean good news for construction yet. Total construction in 2009 and 2010 will be down 14% and 5% respectively, according to FMI economist Heather Jones. Click here to download FMI’s Q309 report free. (post updated on December 2)

In the three-year period leading up to the current recession, gross billings at U.S. architecture firms increased nearly $16 billion from 2005 and totaled $44.3 billion in 2008. This equates to 54% growth over the three-year period with annual growth of about 16%. These findings are from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Business of [...]

Construction spending during August 2009 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $941.9 billion, 0.8% above the revised July estimate of $934.6 billion and 11.6%, or $124.2 billion, below the August 2008 estimate of $1,066.1 billion. During the first eight months of 2009, construction spending reached $629.5 billion, 11.9% below the $714.3 billion [...]

As the nonresidential construction industry continues to struggle, the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Architecture Billings Index (ABI) showed a nominal improvement in September. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate 9- to 12-month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. It is derived from a monthly “Work-on-the-Boards” [...]

Construction spending during July 2009 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $958 billion, 0.2% below the revised June estimate of $959.5 billion and 10.5% below the July 2009 estimate of $1,070.2 billion. During the first seven months of 2009, construction spending reached $543.8 billion, 11.4% below the $613.5 billion for the same [...]

Another stall in the recovery for the construction industry as the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) dropped to its lowest level since June. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine- to 12-month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the August [...]

Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes notched up two points in July to its highest level since September 2008, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The HMI rose two points to 17 in July as builders saw an improvement in current sales conditions but [...]

Building Design & Construction’s July issue features an article by C.C. Sullivan and Barbara Horwitz-Bennett titled, “MEP Technologies for Eco-Effective Buildings,” includes several sections related to lighting. I was pleased to participate in the article as a source instead of an author this time, representing my client the Lighting Controls Association, for which I’m acting [...]

The stimulus plan appears to be having little influence on construction companies’ ability to expand payrolls to date, according to a new industry analysis of the impact of the federal program’s construction spending released by the Associated General Contractors of America. The disappointingly slow pace of construction spending outside of the transportation sector is one [...]