Tag: economy

February 24, 2023

A full year of higher interest rates will cause 2023 to be a slower year for construction activity, said Vornado CEO Steven Roth during the call. “Steel, concrete and curtain walls are important, but in our business, capital is the […]

February 17, 2023

After December’s numbers posted lower results, Ken Simonson, chief economist at the Associated General Contractors of America, warned that lower costs could be short-lived. “Some prices have already turned higher in January,” Simonson said last month. “Contractors are right to […]

January 20, 2023

December’s reading represents the smallest yearly increase since January 2021, according to ABC. “Recent consumer and Producer Price releases indicate that inflation is fading, though it remains well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target,” said Basu in the report. “Should […]

December 7, 2022

Tech slowdowns continue to affect the commercial construction market, particularly the outlook for the U.S. office market. Technology companies accounted for 40.5% of all leasing activity through the third quarter of 2022. That means hiring freezes and slower growth expectations […]

October 28, 2022

Granite has made progress in eliminating its group of less profitable projects, as it executes its strategy to move away from sprawling design-build contracts toward simpler projects in its target markets of California, Utah and Arizona. Unfortunately, challenges and delays […]

September 27, 2022

Concerns about a return of 1970s-style stagflation have risen as economic growth slows and price pressures remain high despite the most aggressive withdrawal of stimulus by the Federal Reserve since the 1980s. The murkier outlook has compelled many CFOs to […]

July 28, 2022

Despite ongoing challenges like shortages of key materials and labor, rising prices and higher interest rates, the pandemic recovery continues for the construction industry. Growth morphed this year beyond warehouses and single-family housing to include improvement in other commercial sectors […]

November 5, 2021

As COVID-19 continues to impact the construction industry, New York City faces an uncertain near-term economic future, according to the report. Delays in the federal infrastructure bill are also not sparking much optimism, it said. But Carlo Scissura, president and […]

June 25, 2021

Construction is one of the largest industries in the world’s economy that generates trillions of dollars every year. However, the industry faces many challenges like tough competition, low profit margins, cost overruns, and tight project delivery deadlines. These challenges are […]

May 11, 2021

The uptick in the institutional sector, which includes healthcare, education, dormitories, recreation facilities and public buildings such as courts and prisons, seems to be driven by longer-term optimism about the country’s overall progress against COVID-19, even as the hurdles that […]

December 21, 2020

When New York City Department of Design and Construction Commissioner Lorraine Grillo unveiled the city’s first COVID-19 Center of Excellence in early December, a new 22,000-square-foot medical facility in the Bronx with 40 exam rooms that it built for the […]

October 20, 2020

A scathing report published Friday by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis illustrated the gulf in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan application processing times at several large banks. JPMorgan Chase processed PPP loans of more than $5 million […]

August 24, 2020

Even in a coronavirus-challenged environment, there’s money available to build new projects; what’s rare is finding an owner who is willing to break ground. That’s the takeaway of several observers who have noted a dearth of new construction projects coming […]

August 19, 2020

Anirban Basu, chief economist for Associated Builders and Contractors, said the new results reflected a number of impediments that have materialized for construction this summer that are likely to last for some time. “The Dodge construction starts data indicate that […]

June 5, 2020

For sure, it’s a good start. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is reporting today, June 5th, that the total number of U.S. jobs in May rose by 2.5 million. And that the unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted (SA), fell to […]

May 27, 2020

Ever since it struck at the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 has altered our lives. It has wrecked the economy, shoved millions of people out of a job, and locked us inside our homes. Unfortunately, this novel coronavirus is not expected […]

May 11, 2020

There are currently two crises underway simultaneously. The advance of the novel coronavirus is taking a terrible toll in terms of physical and emotional well-being. At the same time, job losses resulting from ‘social distancing’ are sending the economy into […]

May 5, 2020

North America’s four major stock market indices, as shown in Table 1, all recorded strong recent month-to-month performances. They managed double-digit percentage gains from month-end closings in March to month-end closings in April. The appreciations ranged from a low of […]

May 4, 2020

There are currently two crises underway simultaneously. The advance of the novel coronavirus is taking a terrible toll in terms of physical and emotional well-being. At the same time, job losses resulting from ‘social distancing’ are sending the economy into […]

April 27, 2020

There are currently two crises underway simultaneously. The advance of the novel coronavirus is taking a terrible toll in terms of physical and emotional well-being. At the same time, job losses resulting from ‘social distancing’ are sending the economy into […]