ConstructConnect’s grand total construction starts statistics two-thirds of the way through 2019 are almost even with January-August 2018, -3.3%. The composition of starts this year, however, has undergone a dramatic change. It is much more heavily weighted towards very large projects, the so-called ‘mega projects’ of one billion dollars or more each.
The mega projects are primarily engineering in nature and originate in the energy sector. Leaving aside the super-big jobs, the market for medium- and smaller-sized construction projects to date this year has contracted by 15%. Builders in the residential and non-residential building spaces have experienced a leveling in their opportunities.
