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Construction Analytics Outlook Feb 2025
2-22-25 — A PDF of this entire Outlook article has been attached at the bottom of this post. 32pages, watchout. The Outlook has quite a bit more than in the post here.
Construction Spending
for 2024 vs 2023, as of Dec 2024 data, is up 6.5%. All sectors gained between 6% and 7% over 2023. Growth is forecast at 5.5% in 2025. While Residential and Non-building Infrastructure will both gain 7%, Nonresidential Buildings will only see growth of 2% in 2025.
In February of 2025, with the Dec 2024 data in hand, my forecast for 2025 spending is $2,272 billion, 5.5% higher than my current 2024 forecast of $2,154 billion. There is strength in most markets, but Manufacturing is starting a downward slope in spending after three years of blockbuster performance.
This is the first report of a full 12 months of data from 2024. This number gets revised in Mar and Apr and again in July, when any/all months for the last two years get revised.
Last year at this time, leading into 2024, many of the Nonres Bldgs and Non-bldg line items showed Nov-Dec spending was already several points higher than the 2023 average. This year, many markets show very small gains or a decline in the rate of spending from the 1st half of the 2024 into the 2nd half. Some notable declines are Warehouse (-2.7%), Office w/o Data Centers (-3.6%) and Highway/Bridge (-2.9%). All begin 2025 down from the average in 2024.
However, Data Center spending is already up 16% in Oct-Nov-Dec vs the average of 2024, so begins 2025 on a high note, up 16% from 2024. Data Center spending increased 45% in 2023 and 56% in 2024. With spending increasing at an average 3%+ per month in 2024, and starting out at that pace in 2025, it’s easy to predict Data Center spending may reach 40% growth for 2025.
As we begin 2025, the current rate of spending (SAAR) for Nonresidential Buildings in Q4’24 is $761bil, only 2% higher than the average for 2024 ($746bil). If spending stays at the current level and no additional growth occurs, Nonresidential Bldgs spending will finish 2024 up 2%. Spending would need to have more monthly declines than increases to finish the year up less than 2%. The current forecast shows the monthly SAAR rates for Manufacturing, Warehouse and Office w/o DC are driving the downward pressure on overall spending.
Non-building Infrastructure current rate of spending is only 1% higher than the average for 2024, however the forecast is indicating steady growth of 1.5%/mo for all of 2025. Highway, Transportation and Public Utilities are all contributing to that growth in the spending rate.
Residential current rate of spending is a bit less than 2% above the 2024 average. Growth of 1%/mo will occur in the 1st half 2025, then reverse to a slight decline in the 2nd half.
My construction spending forecast for 2025 Nonres Bldgs is only an annual gain of 2%. Low growth is driven by projects ending in Manufacturing and Warehouse. In the last 3 yrs, there were $230bil Mnfg starts, most in 2022, $130bil above normal, now some are ending. Without Manufacturing, Nonres Bldgs 2025 spending would be up 6%. So while outward appearance may be that Nonres spending is declining, in large part it is due to mega spending on Manufacturing buildings (and Warehouse) tapering down upon completion, creating very large annual declines, but normal. See The Manufacturing Spending Taper
Whenever we get an unusually large increase in new construction starts and spending, the tapering off of those projects leads to a decline in spending in the 2nd half of the scheduled construction. Mnfg new starts peaked in late 2022 – early 2023, so some of these projects would now be in construction for anywhere from 24 to 30 months, well past the midpoint or peak spending. Here’s what the manufacturing spending taper may look like.
In three years, 2020-2022 Manufacturing new starts increased by over 200%. Now, even projects that started in late 2022 are more than 24 months into construction. Peak spending occurs at the midpoint of a project, so peak spending may already be behind us. The current rate of spending in constant$, with exception of Oct. which jumped 2%, remained near flat for the last 8 months. Mnfg new starts peaked in late 2022 – early 2023, so some of these projects would now be in construction for anywhere from 24 to 30 months, well past the midpoint or peak spending. It appears the slowdown in the 2nd half 2024 may be an indication that spending peaked. Although 2025 spending begins 4% higher than 2024 average, my model indicates the rate of spending drops 10% by midyear and by year-end is down 25% from current spending. I’m forecasting 2025 spending average falls 8.5% below 2024.
See The Manufacturing Spending Taper
This same scenario will occur in Highway/Bridge. Normal Highway starts have consistently been about $100bil/yr, with slow growth. But actual starts were closer to $500bil total for the last three years. This strong growth in starts is expected to continue at least into 2025, totaling near $650bil for four years. Again, consider that part of that is inflation, but the remainder is government investment growth. So a decline from the taper back to normal for Highway/Bridge may not show up at least for the next few years. Once the taper begins it will have the same effect on Non-bldg Infrastructure spending that we will see from Manufacturing in Nonres Bldgs.
Residential spending is 45% SF, 15% MF and 40% Reno. So, only 60% of the total is spending on new housing units. The other 40% is Renovations. Single family construction spending reached a post-2006 high in Q4’21 thru Apr’22. From Apr’22 to the low-point in May ’23 spending dropped 25%. By year-end 2023 it had recovered most of that drop. It fell again in mid-2024, but has since recovered again to the year-end’23 level. Single Family spending is up 7% in 2024 over 2023. Multi-family in Q4’24 is down 10% from Q4’23. Renovations is up 15% from Q4’23 to Q4’24.
The Non-Building Infrastructure spending forecast for 2025 will be most affected by the fact that Power starts for the last 3 years range from 9% to 11%, Highway new starts range from 8% to 11% and Public Works new starts range from 13% to 17%. Starts have been greater than spending each of the last three years. Backlog increased 10% each in 2023 and 2024 and 9% in 2025. Power spending will increase $13bil (8.5%) in 2025, supported by 22% growth in starts the last 2 years. Public Utilities (Sewage and Waste, Water Supply and Conservation-Rivers-Dams) will increase $12bil (13%), with 30% growth in starts the last 2 years.
The Nonresidential Buildings spending forecast for 2025 is most affected by declines in Manufacturing and Warehouse, and increases in Educational and Data Centers. Starts in 2021 and 2022 increased at an average 14%/yr. But new starts in 2023 were only 5.5%, and in 2024 were only 2.6%. Starts in 2023, and especially 2024, have the most impact on 2025 spending. Backlog is increasing, but the rate of backlog growth has slowed from 15% in 2022 to 5% in 2024 and 2% in 2025. Although Data Center spending is expected to increase 42%, that is $12bil. Educational spending will also increase $12bil, even though that is only 9%.
Educational SAAR rate of spending begins 2025 4.5% higher than the average for 2024. Starts are up 18% over the last 2 years. Spending finished 2024 3% higher than it started. The rate of spending is increasing at 0.50% to 0.75%/month for 2025. My forecast is for 9% spending growth in 2025.
Healthcare SAAR rate of spending begins 2025 0.5% lower than the average for 2024. Starts are up 22% over the last 2 years. The rate of spending, increasing since June, is flat in Q1’25, then increases at an average of 1.5%/month for Q2 and Q3 before slowing. My forecast is for 6% spending growth in 2025.
Amusement /Recreation SAAR rate of spending begins 2025 3.0% higher than the average for 2024. Starts are up 18% over the last 2 years. The rate of spending, up 9% from Q1’24 to Q4’24, increases at an average 1.25%/month for 2025. My forecast is for 13% spending growth in 2025.
Lodging SAAR rate of spending begins 2025 3% lower than the average for 2024. Starts are up 14% in 2024 and 20% over the last 2 years. The rate of spending, lower in the 2nd half 2024, increases at an average of 1.25%/month for 2025. My forecast is for 9.5% spending growth in 2025.
Office Bldgs w/o Data Centers SAAR rate of spending begins 2025 3.6% lower than the average for 2024. Starts are down 15% over the last 2 years. Spending in the 2nd half of 2024 is down 5% from the 1st half, in fact from Q1’24 to Q4’24, the rate of spending fell 10%. The rate of spending increases 0.5%/mo in Q1’25, but then falls at 0.50% to 0.75%/month for Q2 thru Q4. My forecast is for a 4% spending decline in 2025.
Data Centers SAAR rate of spending begins 2025 16% higher than the average for 2024. Starts are up 120% over the last 2 years. From beginning to end of 2024 spending increased 20%. The rate of spending increases at near 2%/month for 2025. My forecast is for 42% spending growth in 2025.
Commercial / Retail Bldgs w/o Warehouse SAAR rate of spending begins 2025 only 1.5% higher than the average for 2024. Starts are down 0.5% over the last 2 years. In 2024, the rate of spending fell 3% over the year. The rate of spending begins 2025 with a slight drop then is flat for the rest of the year. My forecast is for 1% drop in spending in 2025.
Warehouse Bldgs SAAR rate of spending begins 2025 2.7% lower than the average for 2024. Starts are down 17% over the last 2 years. Spending in the 2nd half of 2024 is already down 13% from the 1st half 2024. The rate of spending in 2025 drops at 0.25%/month. My forecast is for 4% spending decline in 2025.
Highway SAAR rate of spending begins 2025 2.9% lower than the average for 2024. Spending fell 7% over the course of 2024, but still finished the year up 4%. Starts are up 18% over the last 2 years. Monthly spending is up and down, but averages 0.8%/mo for the year. My forecast is for 3% spending growth in 2025.
Power SAAR rate of spending begins 2025 2.0% higher than the average for 2024. Starts are up 22% over the last 2 years. 2024 spending finished level with where it started and begins 2025 up 2% over avg. 2024. The rate of spending starts strong at 2%/mo in Q1, then falls back to 0.3%/mo for the remainder of 2025. My forecast is for 8.5% spending growth in 2025.
Public Utilities SAAR rate of spending begins 2025 1.7% higher than the average for 2024. Starts are up 29% over the last 2 years. From Q1’24 to Q4’24, spending increased 9%. The rate of spending slows from 1.5%/mo at the beginning of 2025 to 1%/mo by year-end. Sewage/Waste and Water Supply provide the greatest $ growth. My forecast is for 13% spending growth in 2025.
Transportation SAAR rate of spending begins 2025 4.0% higher than the average for 2024. Starts are up 9% over the last 2 years. Spending finished 2024 6% higher than it started. The 2025 rate of spending starts strong just above 1%/mo, but averages only 0.75%/mo for the whole year. My forecast is for 8.7% spending growth in 2025.
STARTING BACKLOG
Starting backlog is the estimate to complete (in this analysis taken at Jan 1) for all projects currently under contract. The last time starting backlog decreased was 2011. If new construction starts in the year are greater than construction spending in the year, then for the following year starting backlog increases. It’s when new starts don’t replenish the amount of spending in the year that backlog declines.
80% of all nonresidential spending in any given year is from backlog and could be supported by projects that started last year or 3 to 4 years ago. Residential spending is far more dependent on new starts than backlog. Only about 30% of residential spending every year comes from backlog and 70% from new starts.
The table below, Forecast Starting Backlog, is model generated by Construction Analytics. Adjusted starts are spread over time to generate cash flow. Spending each year is subtracted from starting backlog and new starts are added to get starting backlog in the following year.
Construction Backlog leading into 2025 in total is up 53% from Jan 2020. Even though several markets are down for the year, every sector (Res, Nonres, Nonbldg) is at all-time high. Since 2020, construction starts have been greater than construction spending, therefore backlog is increasing, but the spread is decreasing. From 2015 through 2019, new construction starts were steady at 4% greater than spending. In 2020, 2021 and 2022, starts exceeded spending by 8%. In 2023 it fell to 6% and in 2024 it was 5%. For 2025, starts are expected to exceed spending by only 3%, indicating the rate of backlog growth is slowing.
Reaching new highs in Backlog could mean not enough labor to support advancing growth so quickly. Future workload from new starts is piling up faster than the current workforce can complete. And the labor force has limitations to how fast it can grow. Nonresidential Bldgs and Non-building posted higher than average starts growth vs spending.
Residential new starts average only 2% greater than spending. Residential new starts in 2023 were lower than spending, so, in 2024, for the first time in 10 years, residential backlog decreased. Even then, residential backlog beginning 2025 is up 61% since 2020. However, these backlog numbers are not inflation adjusted. 45%, or about ¾’s of the 61% residential backlog growth over 5 years is inflation. Real residential backlog growth since 2020 is 16%.
Nonresidential Bldgs starting backlog for 2025 received a boost from all the starts in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Backlog is up 55% from 2020. After 36% inflation, real backlog growth over 5 years is 19%.
Non-building Infrastructure starting backlog was also boosted by strong starts in 2021- 2024. For 2025, backlog is up 49% from Jan 2020. After 38% inflation, real backlog growth over 5 years is 11%.
Manufacturing backlog increased 130% from 2020-2025, from $117bil going into 2020 to $270bil beginning 2025. Prior to tracking Data Centers separately, no other market has ever been close to that growth. But, Manufacturing is 6 times the dollar value of Data Centers. Manufacturing was responsible for 60% of all the Nonres Bldgs spending $ growth in 2023 and 85% in 2024. It was also responsible for 33% of the Nonres Bldgs Backlog growth from 2020 to 2025.
Nonres Bldgs has a total 3.7 million jobs and has never increased by more than 150,000 jobs in one year. Manufacturing is 30% of all Nonres Bldgs spending, so we can assume 30% of Nonres Bldgs jobs. That’s 1.1 million jobs supporting just Manufacturing projects. So Backlog of $270bil, at 5000 jobs per billion per year, would need 1,350,000 jobs for a year. With a 1,100,000 jobs share of the workforce, $270billion in backlog would provide support for 15 months. Of course, new starts add to support throughout the year, but the calculation of how long backlog would support that market segment is valuable.
Likewise, Highway/Bridge has 2025 starting backlog of $240billion and represents 30% of Non-bldg Infrastructure spending, so may occupy 30% of Non-bldg jobs, or 345,000 jobs. But Non-bldg work requires fewer jobs, more like 3,000 jobs/bil/yr, so $240 billion at 3000 jobs/billion/year would need 720,000 jobs for 1 year to complete. Therefore, with a pool of only 345,000 jobs supporting highway work, the backlog of $240billion would provide support for 25 months.
Backlog at the beginning of the year or new starts within the year does not give an indication of what direction spending will take within the year. Backlog is increasing if new starts during the year is greater than spending during the year. An increase in backlog could immediately increase the level of monthly spending activity, or it could maintain a level rate of market activity, but extended over a longer duration. In this case, there is some of both in the forecast. It takes several years for all the starts in a year to be completed. Cash flow shows the spending over time.
NEW CONSTRUCTION STARTS
Total construction starts for 2024 are up 5.3%. Residential starts increased 5.7%.Nonresidential Buildings starts gained 2.6% and Non-building Infrastructure starts are up 8.3%.
Total construction starts for 2025 are forecast to increase 3.8%. Residential starts are forecast to increase 6.1%. Nonresidential Buildings starts are expected to gain 2.5% and Non-building Infrastructure starts will be up only 1.6%.
Residential starts increased 5.7% in 2024. Only about 30% of the spending in 2025 comes from 2024 starts. Most of the spending (70%) in 2025 comes from projects that starts in 2025. This is a result of short duration single-family and renovations projects. Residential starts are expected to increase 6.1% in 2025.
Nonresidential Buildings, starts fell 20% in the 1st half 2023 but still posted the 2nd highest 6-mo average ever. Some of these starts will still be adding to spending into 2025. Nonres Bldgs starts for 2024 gained only 2.6%, due to large declines of 7% to 8% in Manufacturing, Office w/o Data Center and Warehouse, and a moderate 1.2% decline in Commercial / Retail w/o Warehouse. Office w/o Data Center has fallen each of the last 5 years and is down 15% in the last 2 years. Manufacturing starts in 2025 are expected to drop -13%, Office w/o Data Center -4%. Strong growth in new starts in 2025 is expected from Data Centers, Lodging, Healthcare and Public Bldgs (80% of Other Nonres Bldgs). The forecast for Nonres Bldgs new starts in 2025 is +2.5%.
Non-building starts for the 6-mo period Mar-Aug 2023 posted the best 6 months on record, up 30% from the average of 2022. For 2024, Power, Highway/Bridge and Public Works have the strongest gains. These same three markets had the strongest gains in 2023. Power starts are up 22% the last two years. Highway starts are up 19% the last two years. Environmental Public Works are up 29% the last two years and up 50% the last three years. Total Non-building Starts for 2024 are up 8.3%. Non-building starts for 2025 are forecast up only 1.6%.
Data Center starts are up 300% since 2020, up 53% in 2023 and up 44% in 2024, and are expected to increase 27% in 2025. In 2014-2015, Data Centers was less than 5% of total Office+DC construction spending. Today it is approaching 30%. Next year it will approach 40%.
Warehouse starts have dropped 17% in the last two years. Warehouse spending will now slow after climbing 100%+ since 2019. In 2015, Warehouse was 25% of total Commercial spending. By 2022 it had climbed to 54%. In 2025, it will fall back to 45%. But spending will remain near the current level at least for the next three years. Warehouse starts will remain flat in 2025.
Manufacturing starts, the market with the largest $ movement, fell 8.7% in 2024, but still gained 115% from 2019 to 2024. Manufacturing projects can have a moderately long average duration because some of these are multi-billion $ projects and can have schedules that are 4 to 5 years, so some of these projects are still contributing a large volume of spending in 2025. However, as earlier projects begin to taper off, spending will begin to decline.
Manufacturing starts hovered near $80bil/yr from 2014 through 2019. By 2023 new starts had increased to $206bil/yr. Starts fell 9% in 2024 and are predicted to fall by $20bil/yr to $30bil/yr (10% to 15%) over the next three years. Spending is predicted to decline by approx. 10%/yr for the next three years.
Public Works project starts have increased on average 15%/yr for the last four years. Project starts are up 75% in the last four years. Spending is predicted to climb for the next three years.
CURRENT $ SPENDING / INFLATION / CONSTANT $ VOLUME
Volume = spending minus inflation. Spending includes inflation. Inflation adds nothing to volume.
Many construction firms judge their backlog growth by the remaining estimate to complete of all jobs under contract. The problem with that, for example, is that Nonresidential Buildings spending (revenues) increased 14% in 2022, but after adjusting for 12% inflation the actual volume of work was up only 2%. By this method, firms are including in their accounting an increase in inflation dollars passing through their hands. Spending includes inflation, which does not add to the volume of work.
Total volume for 2024 is up 3.1%. Residential +2.7%, Nonres Bldgs +3.3%, Non-bldg +3.5%.
Total volume forecast for 2025 is +1.3%. Residential +2.9%, Nonres Bldgs -1.9%, Non-bldg +3.0%.
Since 2019, spending has increased 55%. Volume has increased only 10%. The difference is inflation.
Inflation adjusted volume is spending minus inflation, or to be more accurate, spending divided by (1+inflation). Inflation adds nothing to volume growth. The following table shows spending, inflation and volume (spending without inflation) for each year. Spending is current to the year stated. The values in the constant table are indexed to a constant value year, now using 2024. This shows business volume year to year, can be a lot different than spending would indicate. When inflation is positive, volume is always less than spending by the amount attributed to inflation.
Caution: the following table, showing Constant$ analysis, now shows Constant$ with base year at 2024. Since Q1-2020 I have used the base year at 2019. This update changes the Constant$ amount, but not the Constant$ percent growth. Slight changes in prior years inflation resulted in some minor changes in Constant$ growth.
Spending during the year is the value of business volume plus the inflation on that volume. When inflation is 12%, volume plus 12% = total spending. Revenue is generally measured by spending put-in-place during the year. Therefore, Revenue does not measure volume growth. In 2022, Nonresidential buildings inflation was 12%, so business volume was 12% less than spending, or 12% less than revenue. Residential volume was 15% less than spending.
Construction spending includes inflation, which adds nothing to the volume of work put-in-place. Construction Volume is a measure of business activity. It eliminates inflation as a variable and shows Constant$ growth. As an example, 2021-22 posted some of the biggest spending increases we’ve seen in 20 years, up over 25% in two years. But, if you look at the bottom row in the table above, we see constant$ growth, or volume, increased only 1.6% in those two years. The inflation rates for those years confirms that almost all of the spending increases were inflation, not added business volume. Construction volume, (spending minus inflation) will finish 2025 up 1.3%, but up only 12% since 2019.
Compare this following Spending by Sector Constant$ plot to the Sector Current$ plot at the beginning of this article.
CONSTRUCTION JOBS
Construction Jobs should not get compared to construction spending. Spending includes inflation, which adds nothing to business volume. Compare Jobs growth to Volume growth. If volume is declining, there is little to no support to increase jobs. And yet, we’ve seen historically that jobs increase at an approximately 3.5%/yr, even when volume does not increase.
Construction Jobs increased 204,000 jobs or 2.5% in 2024. There are currently 8,291,000 construction jobs reported by BLS. The largest annual increase post 2010 is 321,000 jobs (+4.6%) in 2018. The average jobs growth post 2010 is 200,000 jobs per year.
From 2012-2019, we added an annual average 245,000 jobs/yr (+3.9%). From 2021-2024, we added 240,000 jobs/yr (3.1%). In 2024 we added only 204,000 jobs (2.5%). Since 2011, there have been only 3 years in which we added fewer than 200,000 jobs, 2012, 2020, 2021. Also, since 2011, there have been only 3 years in which we added more than 300,000 jobs, 2015, 2018, 2022. Seldom do jobs increase by 400,000 or by 5%/yr. Excluding down years, since 2012, average annual growth is 3.6%/yr.
Here’s an enlarged view of just Jobs/Volume. Removing Spending enhances the vertical scale.
From 2012-2019, we added an annual average 245,000 jobs/yr (+3.9%). From 2021-2024, we added an average of 240,000 jobs/yr (3.1%). In 2024 we added only 204,000 jobs (2.5%). Since 2011, there have been only 3 years in which we added fewer than 200,000 jobs, 2012, 2020, 2021. Also, since 2011, there have been only 3 years in which we added more than 300,000 jobs, 2015, 2018, 2022. Seldom do jobs increase by 400,000 or by 5%/yr. Excluding down years, since 2012, average annual growth is 3.6%/yr.
January jobs report shows we added 4k jobs in Jan, but the unemployment rate went up from an average 4.7% in Q4 2024 (5.2% in Dec), to 6.5% in Jan.
3-7-25 Construction gained 19k (+0.2% mo/mo) jobs in Feb, BUT total hrs worked fell -0.3%. Total jobs have increased but hrs worked has gone down in each of the last 5 months. We’ve posted minor jobs gains in both Jan and Feb, and yet unemployment has gone up from 5.2% in Dec to 7.2% in Feb.
The unemployment rate in construction goes UP in the 1st qtr every year, by at least 2% to 3% (data since 2011). Now, your 1st thought may be, if unemployment is increasing, that is probably because jobs are falling. Well, construction has ADDED jobs in the 1st qtr. every year since 2011 (excluding 2020), by an avg of nearly 30% of all jobs added annually. Construction unemployment is not going up in winter months because we lose jobs in winter. So how can the unemployment rate still go up? The numerator (jobs) is increasing. There’s only one number left in the equation, the denominator (workforce). The result goes up because the entire workforce increases. In this case, the workforce is increasing by greater than the number of jobs added. So, when the unemployment rate increases in Q12025, don’t assume it is because we are losing jobs.
The plot below shows how consistent jobs growth has been over the last 14 years. After the 2020 dip, the slope (annual rate of growth) of jobs growth is about the same as Jan2011-Jan2020. Jobs increase at about 3.5%/yr to 4%/yr., regardless of what volume is doing. In fact, since 2016, the last time volume increased by more than 4%, jobs are up 22%. Volume is up only 11%.
Since Jan 2011, average jobs growth is 3%/yr. Average volume of work growth since 2010 is 2.3%/yr. This plot above shows Jobs and Volume growth closely match from 2011 to 2018. With few exceptions for recession periods, this pattern can be seen throughout the historical data.
What’s remarkable about the growth is this; since 2016, spending has increased 77%, volume after inflation increased only 11% and jobs increased 22%. Volume and jobs should be moving together.
It takes about 5000 (Nonres) jobs to put-in-place $1 billion of volume in one year. It could easily vary from 3000 to 5000, depending on the type of work. So, on average, an add of $100 billion+ of Nonres Bldgs in one year would need 500,000 new jobs. Jobs should track volume, not spending growth. Volume = spending minus inflation. Normal construction jobs growth is about 250,000 jobs per year and maximum prior annual growth is about 400,000.
Non-building, over the next two years, could experience the same kind of growth spurt as Nonres Bldgs., a forecast increase in volume the next two years without an equal increase in jobs. Volume which was lower than jobs since 2021, is now increasing faster than jobs. Non-bldg volume is forecast up 6% to 8%/year the next 3 years. Jobs increase at an avg. 3.5%/year.
Residential volume has exceeded residential jobs all the way back to 2011. The recent decline in volume brings the two even, if the jobs hold the pace.
For as long as I can remember, the construction industry has been complaining of jobs shortages. And yet, as shown in the data mentioned above, jobs have increased greater than volume of work. With an exception for recession years, (2007-2010 and 2020), jobs increase at a rate of 2.5% to 3% per year. The greatest disparity between jobs and volume occurred in late 2022, when jobs growth had already resumed normal pace, but volume of work was still reeling from the effects of new construction starts that were canceled dating back to late 2020 and early 2021. Recent volume growth at a much faster rate than jobs growth is now closing the gap.
For the 4yr period 2021 thru 2024, jobs are up 13%, but volume of work put-in-place is up only 6%.
Don’t be surprised if 2025 construction jobs growth slows a bit. Jobs are slightly ahead of volume growth, particularly in the Non-building Infrastructure sector. Since 2019, both Jobs and Volume increased 10%. But that includes 2020, when volume increased 4% but jobs fell by 250k, or 3%.
When jobs increase without an equal increase in the volume of work, productivity declines. This recent increase in volume and the projected increase in volume in 2024, several points stronger than jobs, will offset some of the disparity which has been negative for a long time.
The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies recently posted that In Texas, California, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia, immigrants make up more than half of construction trade workers. This analysis will make no effort to discuss the potential impact of immigrants in the workforce, but we must recognize the makeup of who is filling these jobs. Keep in mind after this analysis reaches some conclusions that this aspect may weigh heavily on the outcome.
INFLATION
To properly inflation adjust the cost of construction, use a Final Cost Inflation Index.
General construction cost indices, that do not address labor, productivity or margins and Input price indices, don’t reflect whole bldg final cost and therefore do not capture the full cost of escalation in construction.
Final cost indices represent total actual cost to the owner and are usually higher than general indices. Producer Price Index (PPI) INPUTS to construction reflect costs at various stages of material production, may not represent final cost of materials to the jobsite and do not include labor, productivity or margins. That’s why a PPI Inputs index +20% for a material could be only a +5% final cost. PPI Final Demand indices include all costs and do represent actual final cost.
Construction Analytics Building Cost Index is a weighted average of eight final cost indices.
The following Construction Inflation plot (for Nonresidential Buildings only) shows three elements: 1) a solid grey bar reflecting the max and min of the 10 indices I track in my weighted average inflation index, 2) a solid black line indicating the weighted average of those 10 indices, and 3) a dotted red line showing the Engineering News Record Building Cost Index (ENR BCI). Notice the ENR BCI is almost always the lowest, or one of the lowest, indices. ENR BCI, along with R S Means Index, unlike final cost indices, do not include margins or productivity changes and in the case of ENR BCI has very limited materials and labor inputs.
The solid black line (above) represents the Construction Analytics Building Cost Index for Nonresidential Bldgs and is a final cost index.
This short table shows the inflation rate for each year. Useful to compare to last year, but you would need to mathematically do the compounding to move over several years. The plot below shows the cumulative inflation index, or the cumulative compounded effect of inflation for any two points in time.
30-year average inflation rate for residential and nonresidential buildings is 4.1%. But when excluding deflation in recession years 2008-2010, for nonresidential buildings the long-term average is 4.7% and for residential is 4.9%. For Non-bldg Infrastructure the 30-year average is 3.6%. When excluding deflation in recession years 2008-2010, Non-bldg long-term average inflation is 3.9%.
Since 2011, Nonres Bldgs inflation is 4.8%, Residential is 5.4% and Non-bldg is 4.3%.
Reference Inflation Data Construction Inflation 2024
Construction Analytics Nonres Building Cost Index is a weighted average of eight final cost indices. It is compared below to the PPI Inputs (not final cost) and PPI Final Demand (yes final cost).
Final cost indices represent total actual cost to the owner and are usually higher than general indices.
Producer Price Index (PPI) INPUTS to construction reflect costs at various stages of material production, generally do not represent final cost of materials to the jobsite and do not include labor, productivity or margins. Even with that, a PPI Inputs index +20% for a material could be only a +5% final cost. PPI Final Demand indices include all costs and do represent actual final cost.
We can’t always tell what affect changes in the cost of construction materials will have on the final outcome of total construction inflation. PPI materials index does not account for productivity or margins and varies on stage of input.
Jan’25 Inputs are up, +0.8% to Nonres, +1.2% to Residential and 1.2% to Highway, the largest increases since Jan’24. The largest Input item increases in January are Paving Mixtures (up 14.6%), Diesel Fuel (up 3.6%), Concrete Brick, Block & Pipe (up 2.2%), Copper & Brass Shapes (up 1.9%) and Flat Glass (up 1%). Steel Pipe & Tube is down 1.3%. Both Lumber/Plywood and Fabricated Structural Steel are down 0.5% or less.
The PPI Final Demand index (for Nonresidential Bldgs only) is one of several that does account for labor and margins, hence it is defined as a final cost index. In this plot, Jan’25 closes out Q4’24. Total growth in 2024 was only 0.4%.
A Check on Measuring Methodology
And finally, here’s one of the markers I use to check my forecast modeling, my forecasting performance tracking index. The light plot line is forecast predicted from my modeling. The dark plot line is actual construction spending. Even after any separation in the indices, the plots should move at the same slope. Almost without fail, the forecast model, estimated spending from cashflow, predicts the changes in direction of actual spending. The nonresidential buildings plots (and the residential plot prior to 2020) are remarkably close, providing an indication the method of analysis employed, cash flow of all construction starts to get spending forecast, is reasonably accurate.
Note the divergence of residential in Jul-Dec 2020. Actual residential spending finished much higher than predicted. Even the cash flow from an all-time high in new residential starts does not predict spending to increase so rapidly. But residential project spending was fully back to prior levels by August 2020, within 3 months from the May 2020 bottom. In 3 months, the actual spending pushed 15% higher than starts predicted. A part of the spending was the resumption of delayed projects, but another big part was renovations, which surged, and reno is 40% of all residential spending.
Construction Inflation 2025 – 2-21-25 PPI data, INDEX TABLES, Inflation History
Construction Briefs – As We Begin 2025 jobs and unemployment, PPI and tracking edz
Construction – Brief Thoughts Dec’24 thoughts on jobs and when spending mega ends
Compare 10 Construction Forecasts Jan 2025 Jan and Midyr Forecasts compared to actual at end of yr
The Next Forecast Challenge written Apr 2023. Nonres volume did climb much faster than Jobs.
This analysis does not take into consideration the inflation impact of a recession or significant new tariffs. Nor does it assume losing any portion of the workforce to deportation. These are all possible. Construction starts may be negatively affected, and if so, then construction spending will also be affected. Some business will be negatively affected. All will lead to higher inflation.
You can print the Summary report by selecting/printing just the first 5 pages.
Construction – More Thoughts Dec’24
The PPI data for November released 12-12. Nov PPI for Construction Materials shows very little change from Oct. Inputs YTD to Nonres are +0.6%, to Rsdn +1.7%, to Hiway +0.6%. Concrete products +6%, Steel products -7% to -8%, Lumber/Plywood -2%, Copper +6%, Diesel -14%. Material Inputs will contribute less than 1% to 2024 Inflation (1.7% for Rsdn) as shown in the Final Demand (Nonres) prices. Final Demand YTD (all in cost) to Nonres Bldgs shows all building types up +0.5% or less. Warehouses, and Industrial Bldgs show -0.1% to -0.25%. Concrete, Roofing and HVAC/Plumbing Trades are up +1% to +2%. Electrical trades are down slightly.
The economists watching residential permits and starts number of units are indicating current poor performance and are predicting a gloomy outlook for 2025. So far, the Dodge Construction Network, which tracks dollars starts, has residential starts up 7% year-to-date 2024, when compared to same 10 months 2023. Dodge is forecasting starts up next year. When I spread those starts out over time, the cashflow (spending) is stacking up pretty well at 7%/yr. There could be some downward changes to 2025 forecast due to immigration issues and tariffs.
I’ve been wondering, Should the duct tape be given as much value as the banana? Without the duct tape this whole banana art thing just doesn’t hold up.
Hurricanes & Residential Construction
Over the next few years there could be many billion$ of construction spending to “repair” hurricane damaged homes. That spending will NOT be reported in Census construction spending reports. According to Census definition, renovations to “repair” natural disaster damage are not recorded in construction spending.
Construction spending to “replace” homes entirely lost to hurricane damage (wiped completely off the foundation) IS reported in Census spending, but it is reported as renovations/repair, not new SF or MF construction. These are not “new” homes and do not add to the new home count. The work is to replace an existing home.
There will be billions$ of residential construction and the associated labor that will fall outside posted Census data. Some of that spending and labor will be diverted from the growth in residential construction tracked by the Census Rsdn$. So, it is conceivable that Census tracked residential spending could slip slightly from current projections, and yet the work is being done, only unaccounted for.
(All of this is true also for nonresidential).
Expect increased demand and potentially longer waits for all residential building products; lumber, doors, windows, roofing, siding, drywall, flooring, HVAC, plumbing, electrical and appliances, primarily or exclusively in the affected regions.
If your business is in a region that is currently outside the affected region and slow for residential construction, consider that anybody with a hammer and a pick-up truck may be traveling to the affected regions to work. That could mean that many slow regions may lose some available labor, as the labor will move to the affected area.
For every $1billion of work needed to replace damaged buildings it requires 4000-5000 construction workers for one year. That could also be stated as 1000 jobs for 4 to 5 years. Very early damage projections due to Helene and Milton range from $50-$175 billion, but not all of that is construction. If even $10 billion of work is construction to repair/replace damaged buildings, that would require 10,000 jobs for a period of 4 to 5 years (or 20,000 jobs for 2 to 2 1/2 years).
Can We Increase Residential Construction by 3 Million Units in 4 Years?
Here’s a look at the residential construction industry. Except for the first mention of Current $, All $ in this analysis are inflation adjusted Constant 2019$, so all years can be compared on equal terms. All numbers are rounded slightly.
Currently in 2024 $, residential construction spending is $940 billion/year, 43% of all construction. Only 60% of that ($560 billion) is spending on new housing units. The other 40% is Reno.
Currently for 2024, residential construction supports 3,350,000 jobs. Only 60% of the jobs (2,000,000) are for new units.
30 years ago residential construction spending was $550 billion/year and there were 2,200,000 jobs. On average over 30 years (including all up or down years) we’ve added $14 billion/year in spending and 38,000 jobs per year.
The 30 year (1995-2024) average growth in residential spending, counting only 21 up years, (eliminating all 9 down years) is +$36 billion/year. There were 2 years that we added +$70 billion/year in spending (one of those in 2021) and including those, there were only 7 years over +$50 billion/year.
The 30 year (1995-2024) average growth in residential jobs, counting only 21 up years, (eliminating down years) is +125,000 jobs/year. In 1999, we added 270,000 residential jobs. Since 2011, the most we’ve added in a year is 170,000 jobs in 2021. That’s for ALL residential construction.
In 30 years, we’ve never added more than $70 billion/year in residential construction spending nor more than 270,000 residential jobs in a year. Since 2011, the most residential spending increased was $70 billion in a year and the most residential jobs increased was 170,000 jobs in a year, both in 2021.
Only 60% of all residential spending and jobs is associated with building new housing units. The other 40% is renovations, not associated with new construction. That must be considered when reviewing all the historical data noted above. So the following is just to look at the data without renovation.
Reduce the data by 40% to eliminate spending and jobs associated with renovation and look at just the data associated with building new housing units: In 30 years, we’ve never added more than $40 billion/year (2004,2021) in residential construction spending on new units nor more than 160,000 residential jobs in a year (1999,2005). This is for New Units construction only.
Since 2011, the most spending increased for new units was $40 billion in a year (in Constant 2019$) and the most jobs increased was 100,000 residential jobs, both in 2021.
The last time residential jobs for new units increased by 100,000 or more in a year was 2005. Best growth ever was 2004-2005-2006, when we averaged +120,000 jobs/yr for 3 years, just for new units. In fact, the only times residential jobs for new units increased by more than 100,000 were 1999, 2004, 2005 and then finally again in 2021. But 2004-2006 was a time when the construction unemployment rate averaged 7.5%-8.5%. In 2021, construction unemployment averaged 6%. Now the unemployment rate is averaging 4.5%.
(It would be wise to use post-2011 data for the jobs analysis. The construction industry, especially residential and nonres bldgs, experienced a labor base reset in the period 2006-2010, a period from which we have never fully recovered. Notice in this plot that residential was nearly level at 4000 for 10 years, then from 2005-2009, it shot up to over 5000. It’s remained near 5000 since 2010.).
If we were to match the maximum growth rates since 2011 (and in the case of spending, since 1994) we would increase new residential units construction spending by $40bil/$390bil = 10% and we would increase new residential jobs by 100,000/2,000,000 = 5%. Spending maxed at 10%, but jobs max growth at 5%.
The number of new housing units built in a year varies, but for this post I’ll use 1,500,000. Currently it’s a bit less than that. Increasing new units by 5% to 10% per year on a base of 1.5 million units/year would net a growth between 75,000 to 150,000 added units per year. Let’s use 100,000 new units in the first year. That would be 6.7% growth, already more than the 5% jobs. We would continue the growth, so we increase that by another 100,000 in the 2nd year, and again in the 3rd and 4th years. Leave no doubt, growth of 100,000 units/yr would mean adding jobs to match or exceed the best single-year growth rate in the residential new units construction industry since 2005, and keep matching that growth rate for four consecutive years.
CORRECTION: 8-21-24 The Corrections (now fixed) above raise the upper limit of potential growth based on spending from 7% to 10%, or 150,000 units/yr, but only if we take the result to be dependant on the upper limit % spending growth. I had divided by current $ when I should divide by constant $. Spending can vary a lot more than jobs. While some years of jobs growth reach 6%-7%, average residential jobs growth is just over 4%. Jobs never grow at 10%/year.
This plot shows the steady growth in residential jobs, 75% over 15 years. Compounded that’s about 4%/yr. So, it seems much more likely the limiting factor here is jobs, not spending.
In this analysis, the number of units was chosen at 100,000/yr., an increase of 6.7%/yr., well below potential spending growth but already more than jobs growth. The jobs increase in 2021 was 5%/yr. In 2004-2005, jobs growth was 8%/yr. So, this 6.7% is near the high end of potential jobs growth. This implies an add of 130,000 jobs.
So we would increase new units by 100,000 + 200,000 + 300,000 + 400,000 or 1,000,000 total new affordable residential units over the next 4 years.
By this rough analysis, to increase new residential units by 3 million over current production over the next 4 years would require that we increase residential construction and jobs by 3x greater than the best performance achieved in the construction industry in the last 30 years, and keep it up for the next 4 consecutive years. That’s more jobs than the entire construction industry gains in one year and the new units subset of construction is only 25% of all construction.
Although there has been times past when jobs increased by 120,000/year, that was a time when unemployment was much higher and there were more workers available to readily go back into the workforce. It’s not impossible that jobs can grow faster, and therefore also the number of new units, but it is unlikely.
If a substantial portion of the current 1,500,000 unit production (500,000 units a year for the next 4 years) were shifted over to affordable units, the picture changes considerably. But I wouldn’t expect that current demand to just go away and shift to lower cost units. So, this leaves current demand as is and adds jobs.
A Proposal: If some amount of the funds to be invested in this program is directed towards trades training programs, within two years, and every year after, we could potentially be turning out some of the extra 260,000 additional workers we would need every year to achieve 3 million new housing units. This approach would create both good jobs and new affordable homes. Incentivize the training program somehow. Paid internship. Perhaps with a guarantee in return to work for 2-3yrs. If we don’t invest in training workers for this effort, we cannot build more than the labor we have. Here’s a thread on my training proposal. https://x.com/EdZarenski/status/1828778915055468816
Construction Analytics Outlook 2024
Construction Analytics Economic Outlook 2024 includes Construction Data – DEC 2023 Data 2-7-24
2-22-24 At the bottom of this article is a downloadable PDF of the complete 2024 Outlook
Here is a summary of construction spending through December 2023, Inflation through 4th qtr. or Nov where available, and resulting constant dollar volume. 2023 spending will be revised three times in 2024, Mar1, Apr1 and Jul1, and then again on Jul1 2025. Historically, almost all revisions are up.
Construction spending preliminary total for 2023 is up 7.0%. But nearly 80% of that total is inflation. Except for Nonresidential Bldgs, spending increased 23%, so inflation is only 25% of that. Even deducting inflation still leaves 75% of spending as volume growth Most of that growth is in Manufacturing buildings.
Spending is up a total of 42% since 2019; up 8% in 2020, 10% in 2021, 12% in 2022 and now 7% in 2023. But volume after adjusting for inflation is up only 5% total. You can see the Constant$ line, with one lower dip in 2022, has ranged between Constant$1400bil. to $1500bil. since mid-2019.
Construction spending total forecast for 2024 is up 10.7%. Nonresidential Buildings is forecast up 8.8%, Non-building Infrastructure up 15.8% and Residential up 9.7%. Lower inflation in 2024 means more of that spending is counting towards real volume growth. I’m expecting only 4% to 5% inflation for 2024, so real volume growth could reach 6% for the first time since 2015. From 2012-2016, volume growth averaged 6%/yr. For the last four years, 2020-2023, 42% spending growth vs 37% inflation growth netted only 5% total real volume growth. Since 2017, volume growth averaged less than 1%/yr. Non-building Infrastructure volume could increase 10%+ in 2024.
New Construction Starts
Dodge Construction Network (DNC) monthly news article of construction starts by sector provides the data from which the following is summarized.
Total construction starts for 2023 ended down 4%, but Nonresidential Buildings starts finished down 7% and Non-building Infrastructure starts were UP 16%. Residential starts decreased 12% in 2023.
Total construction starts for 2024 are forecast up 7%. Nonresidential Buildings starts are forecast up 5% and Non-building Infrastructure starts up 8%. Residential starts are forecast up 10% in 2024.
In recent years, Nonres Bldgs new starts averaged $300 billion/year. In the 2nd half of 2022, starts averaged near $500 billion/year. For the 1st half 2023 starts dropped to a rate of $390bil./yr., which is still well above the recent average. Then, for 2nd half 2023, starts came back up to average $430 billion/year, the 2nd highest half year average. A 50% increase in new nonresidential building starts in 2022 has a positive impact on the rate of construction spending in 2023 and 2024. It will continue to add lesser impact into 2025. Projects starting in 2nd half of 2023 could have midpoint of construction, point of peak spending, in 2024 or into 2nd half of 2025, some real long duration starts even later. So, the major spending impact from starts is sometimes one or two years later.
Residential construction (Dodge) starts posted the five highest months ever, all in the 1st 6 months of 2022. In the second half of 2022, residential starts fell 15%. In Q1 2023, residential starts dropped another 12% below 2nd half 2022, the lowest average since Q1-Q2 2020. Finally in July and August, starts regained some strength coming in 33% higher than the lows in Q1. Residential starts finish 2023 down 12% vs 2022. Forecast is up about 10% in 2024.
Nonresidential Buildings, in 2022 posted the largest ever one-year increase in construction starts, up 50%. Some of these starts will be adding to peak spending well into 2025. Nonres Bldgs starts in the 2nd half 2022, averaged 67% higher than any other 6mo period in history. Starts fell 20% in the 1st half 2023 but still posted the 2nd highest 6mo average ever. After two years of outstanding growth, Nonres Bldgs starts close 2023 down 7%. Although 2023 is down 7%, that’s still by far the 2nd best year ever. The forecast for 2024 is +5%.
Manufacturing starts, the market with the largest movement, gained 120% from 2020 to 2023. Manufacturing projects can have a moderately long average duration because some of these are multi-billion$ projects and can have schedules that are 4 to 5 years.
Educational, Healthcare, Lodging and Public Buildings all had starts of 20% or more the last two years.
Non-building starts for the 6 month period Mar-Aug 2023 posted the best 6 months on record, up 30% from the average of 2022. The 2nd half 2022 was up 50% over 1st half 2022. For 2023, Highway/Bridge and Power have the strongest gains. Total Non-building Starts for 2023 are up 16% and they were up 25% in 2022. These starts will help elevate spending through 2025. Non-building starts for 2024 are forecast up 8%.
Power starts are up 25% the last two years. Highway starts and Environmental Public Works are both up 33% the last two years and up 50% the last three years.
Starts data captures a share of the total market or only a portion of all construction spending, on average about 60% of all construction. The easiest way to understand this is to compare total annual construction starts to total annual spending. National starts in recent years about $800 billion/year, while spending in this period ranges from $1,300 billion/year to $1,500 billion/year. From this simple comparison we can see starts captures a share of about 60% of the total market. The actual share for each market varies from as low as 35% to as high as 70%. Before using starts data to forecast spending, starts here were first adjusted for market share.
Starting Backlog
Starting backlog is the estimate to complete (in this analysis taken at Jan 1) for all projects currently under contract. The last time starting backlog decreased was 2011. If new construction starts in the year are greater than construction spending in the year, then for the following year starting backlog increases. It’s when new starts don’t replenish the amount of spending in the year that backlog declines.
80% of all nonresidential spending in any given year is from backlog and could be supported by projects that started last year or 2 to 4 years ago. Residential spending is far more dependent on new starts than backlog. Only about 30% of residential spending comes from backlog and 70% from new starts.
The table below, Forecast Starting Backlog, is model generated by Construction Analytics. Adjusted starts are spread over time to generate cash flow. A sum of spending each month/year, subtracted from start of year plus new starts provides Backlog.
Construction Backlog leading into 2024, in every sector, is at all-time high, in total up 46% from Jan 2020. For the years 2022 and 2023, backlog is up 11% and 12%. Reaching new highs in Backlog could mean contractors are comfortable adding some backlog, or it could mean not enough labor, subcontractors or suppliers to support advancing growth so quickly, so growth advances slower and more of the work is retained in backlog for longer, essentially dragging out the timeline, or it could be long term workload, 4yr.-6yr. long projects from new starts, such as Manufacturing, where a very large amount enters backlog and gets spent over 4-6yrs., so, although the monthly drawdowns reduce the amount remaining in backlog, it remains in backlog for a long time.
Residential backlog in 2024 is down 0.5%, but from such a previous high, essentially, starts are riding flat along the top. Starts are up 55% since Jan 2020.
Nonresidential Bldgs starting backlog for 2024 received a boost from all the starts in 2022 and 2023. Backlog is up 12% from 2023 and up 50% from Jan 2020.
Nonbuilding Infrastructure starting backlog is up 12% each of the last two years boosted by strong starts in 2022 and 2023. For 2024, backlog is up 40% from Jan 2020.
Manufacturing backlog increased nearly 300% from 2020-2024, from $117bil going into 2020 to $300bil beginning 2024. No other market has ever been close. Manufacturing was responsible for 60% of all the Nonres Bldgs spending growth in 2023. It was also responsible for 60% of the Backlog growth leading into 2024. Nonres Bldgs has a total 3.6 million jobs and has never increased by more than 150,000 jobs in one year. Manufacturing is 30% of all Nonres Bldgs spending, so assume 30% of Nonres Bldgs jobs. That’s 1.2million jobs supporting just Manufacturing projects. So Backlog of $300bil, at 5000 jobs per billion per year, would need 1,500,000 jobs for a year. With a 1,200,000 jobs share of the workforce, that backlog would provide support for 15 months. Of course, new starts add to support throughout the year, but the calculation of how long backlog would support that market segment is valuable.
Backlog at the beginning of the year or new starts within the year does not give an indication of what direction spending will take within the year. Backlog is increasing if new starts during the year is greater than spending during the year. An increase in backlog could immediately increase the level of monthly spending activity, or it could maintain a level rate of market activity, but spread over a longer duration. In this case, there is some of both in the forecast. It takes several years for all the starts in a year to be completed. Cash flow shows the spending over time.
Current Rate of Spending
The current seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of spending gives an indication of how spending will perform in the following year. As we begin 2024, the current rate of spending (SAAR) for Nonresidential Buildings in Q4’23 is $709bil., already 4.5% higher than the average for 2023 ($677bil). If spending stays at the current level and no additional growth occurs, Nonresidential Bldgs spending will finish 2024 up 4.5%. Spending would need to have more monthly declines than increases to finish the year up less than 4.5%. The current forecast shows a monthly SAAR rate of growth for Nonresidential Bldgs. averaging about 0.5%/mo in 2024, so we have a minimum, but we can expect 2024 total spending to rise considerably higher than the current rate.
Non-building Infrastructure current rate of spending is now 3.7% higher than the average for 2023, however the forecast is indicating steady growth of 1%/mo for all of 2024.
Residential current rate of spending is 2.4% above the 2023 average and is forecast to average an increase of just under 1%/mo for 2024.
2024 Construction Spending Forecast
Starts lead to spending, but that spending is spread out over time. Starts represent a contract award. Spending takes the amount of that contract award and spreads it out by a cash flow curve over the duration of the job. An average spending curve for the sum of nonresidential buildings is 20:50:30 over three years. Only about 20% of new starts gets spent in the year started. 50% gets spent in the next year and 30% in YR3/4. An average spending curve for Non-building Infrastructure is more like 15:30:30:20:5. The effect of new starts does not show up in spending immediately. For example: If 2024 posts an additional $100 billion in new starts for Infrastructure, only about $15 billion of that would get put-in-place in 2024. The cash flow schedule for that $100 bil of new starts would extend out over 3 to 5 years. Most of that $100 bil would get spent in 2025 and 2026.
Total Construction Spending $2,190 billion +10.7% over 2023.
Nonresidential Buildings $737 billion +8.8% over 2023.
Non-building Infrastructure $493 billion +15.8% over 2023.
Residential Buildings $960 billion +9.7% over 2023.
This forecast does not include a recession.
The largest increases to construction spending in 2023 are Manufacturing +$80bil, Highway +$20bil, Public Utilities (Sewage and Waste, Water Supply and Conservation-Rivers-Dams) +$15bil and Educational +$14bil.
Residential regains the top growth spot in 2024 with a forecast spending increase of +$68bil. Manufacturing is forecast to add +$32bil. Highway gains +$26bil, Power +$24bil and Educational gains +$15bil.
One big question is how did the forecast for Manufacturing increase so much since the beginning of 2023. Since January 2023, the starts forecast for 2023 increased by 35%. How much of that 35% is real growth in starts vs an increase in the capture rate of data gathering is yet to be determined, but has an impact of 2023-2024 spending. Also, starts for future years were increased by 50%. Starts (contract awards) drives up the spending forecast, since spending is a function of the future monthly cash flow (spending) of starts.
As we begin the year, Manufacturing SAAR current rate of spending is already 8% higher than the average for 2023. The current rate of spending is increasing at an average of near 2%/month for the next 6 months, then slows or dips slightly for the remainder of the year, indicating total spending for 2024 will finish well above the current rate of 8%. I’m forecasting 16% growth for the year.
Highway SAAR rate of spending begins the year 6.5% higher than the average for 2023, with the current rate increasing at an average of 1%/month for all of 2024, indicating total spending for 2024 will finish well above the current rate of 6.5%. Starts have increased +15%/yr the last three years. My forecast is for 19% growth in 2024 spending.
Power SAAR rate of spending begins the year 4% higher than the average for 2023, with the current rate increasing at an average over 1%/month for 2024, indicating total spending for 2024 will finish much higher. My forecast is for 20% growth in 2024.
Public Utilities SAAR rate of spending begins the year 6% higher than the average for 2023, with the current rate increasing at an average over 1%/month for 2024. Public Works averaged +15%/yr new starts the last three years. My forecast is for 13% spending growth in 2024.
Residential regains the top spot in 2024 with a forecast spending increase of $68bil. Residential SAAR rate of spending in Q4’23 was up 2.5% over 2023, but December was up 5%. So we begin the year 2.5% to 5% higher than the average for 2023. The rate of spending is forecast to increase 1%/month for 6 months, then fall 0.5%/mo for H2 2024. My forecast is for 10% growth in 2024.
Educational SAAR rate of spending begins 2024 7% higher than the average for 2023, and the current rate is increasing at an average of 0.7%/month for 2024. My forecast is for 13% growth.
Inflation
Construction Inflation differs from other common types of inflation, i.e., Consumer Price Index. It must be accounted for in order to make reasonable calculations for business volume and past or future costs.
30-year average inflation rate for residential and nonresidential buildings is 3.7%. Excluding deflation in recession years 2008-2010, for nonresidential buildings is 4.2% and for residential is 4.6%.
Deflation is not likely. Only twice in 50 years have we experienced construction cost deflation, the recession years of 2009 and 2010. That was at a time when business volume dropped 33% and jobs fell 30%. During two years of the pandemic recession, volume reached a low down 8% and jobs dropped a total 14%.But we gained back far more jobs than volume. That means it now takes more jobs to put-in-pace volume of work. That increases inflation.
The following Construction Inflation plot (for Nonresidential Buildings only) shows three elements: 1) a solid grey bar reflecting the max and min of the 10 indices I track in my weighted average inflation index, 2) a solid black line indicating the weighted average of those 10 indices, and 3) a dotted red line showing the Engineering News Record Building Cost Index (ENR BCI). Notice the ENR BCI is almost always the lowest, or one of the lowest, indices. ENR BCI, along with R S Means Index, unlike final cost indices, do not include margins or productivity changes and in the case of ENR BCI has very limited materials and labor inputs.
Final cost indices represent total actual cost to the owner and are generally higher than general indices. Producer Price Index (PPI) INPUTS to construction reflect costs at various stages of material production, generally do not represent final cost of materials to the jobsite and do not include labor, productivity or margins. Even with that, a PPI Inputs index +20% for a material could be only a +5% final cost. PPI Final Demand indices include all costs and do represent actual final cost. The solid black line (above) represents the Construction Analytics Building Cost Index for Nonresidential Bldgs and is a final cost index.
This short table shows the inflation rate for each year. Useful to compare to last year, but you would need to mathematically do the compounding to move over several years. The plot below shows the cumulative inflation index, or the cumulative compounded effect of inflation for any two points in time.
Typically, when work volume decreases, the bidding environment gets more competitive. We can always expect some margin decline when there are fewer nonresidential projects to bid on, which typically results in sharper pencils. However, when labor or materials shortages develop or productivity declines, that causes inflation to increase. We can also expect cost increases due to project time extensions or potential overtime to meet a fixed end-date.
Current$ Spending, Inflation, Constant$ Volume
Volume = spending minus inflation. Spending includes inflation. Inflation adds nothing to the volume.
Inflation adjusted volume is spending minus inflation, or to be more accurate, spending divided by (1+inflation). Inflation adds nothing to volume growth. The following table shows spending, inflation and volume (spending without inflation) for each year. Spending is current to the year stated. The values in the constant table are indexed to a constant value year, 2019. This shows business volume year to year, can be a lot different than spending would indicate. When inflation is positive, volume is always less than spending by the amount attributed to inflation.
Lower inflation in 2024 means more of that spending is counting towards real volume growth. Expecting only 4% to 5% inflation for 2024, real volume growth could reach 6% for the first time since 2015. From 2012-2016, volume growth averaged 6%/yr. For the last four years, 2020-2023, 42% spending growth vs 37% inflation growth netted only 5% total real volume growth. Since 2017, volume growth averaged less than 1%/yr. Non-building Infrastructure volume could increase 10%+ in 2024.
Spending during the year is the value of business volume plus the inflation on that volume. When inflation is 12%, volume plus 12% = total spending. Revenue is generally measured by spending put-in-place during the year. Revenue does not measure volume growth. In 2022, Nonresidential buildings inflation was 12%, so business volume was 12% less than spending, or 12% less than revenue. Residential volume was 15% less then spending.
When referencing Constant $ growth, remember the dollars for all years are reported here as 2019$. If the baseline year is changed to this year (divide all indices by this year’s index), the resulting comparison would be all years reported as 2024$. The dollars would all be greater, but the percent change would be the same. In this table, nominal spending is divided by the inflation INDEX for the year. You can also deduct the percent inflation from any individual year of spending to find inflation adjusted $ for that year alone, however that method would not allow comparing the adjusted dollars to any other year. A baseline year is necessary to compare dollars from any year to any other year.
Reference Inflation Data Construction Inflation 2024
Through December 2023, Total Construction Spending is up 40% for the four years 2020-2023, but, during that same period inflation increased 35%. After adjusting for 35% inflation, constant $ volume is up only 5%. So, while the current $ spending plot shows a four-year total increase of 40% in spending, the actual change in business volume is up only 5% and has just in the last few months returned to the pre-pandemic peak in Feb-Mar 2020.
Jobs are supported by growth in construction volume, spending minus inflation. If volume is declining, there is no support to increase jobs. Although total volume for 2023 is up 2.3%, Residential volume is down 9%, Nonresidential Bldgs volume is up 16% and Non-building volume is up 8%. Inflation was so high in 2021 and 2022 that it ate away most of the spending gains in those years.
Jobs vs Volume
Construction Jobs increased 2.75% in 2023. We added 214,000 jobs (avg’23-avg’22). There are currently 8,056,000 construction jobs. The largest annual increase post 2010 is 321,000 jobs (+4.6%) in 2018. The average jobs growth post 2010 is 200,000 jobs per year.
Since 2010, average jobs growth is 3%/yr. Average volume of work growth since 2010 is 2.3%/yr. This plot shows Jobs and Volume growth closely match from 2011 to 2018. With few exceptions for recession periods, this pattern can be seen throughout the historical data.
What’s remarkable about the growth is this, since 2016, spending has increased 63%, volume after inflation increased 6% and jobs increased 19%. In the last 7 years, 2017-2023, jobs increased 2.5%/yr. Volume of work increased only 0.8%/yr. Volume and jobs should be moving together.
It takes about 5000 jobs to put-in-place $1 billion of volume in one year. It could easily vary from 4000 to 6000. So, an add of $100 billion+ in one year would need 500,000 new jobs. Jobs should track volume, not spending growth. Volume = spending minus inflation.
Normal construction jobs growth is about 250,000 jobs per year and maximum prior growth is about 400,000. From the table above, Nonresidential Bldgs and Non-building Infrastructure added $100bil of volume in 2023 and will add $60bil in 2024. The workload discussed above would theoretically require 500,000 new jobs in 2023 and 300,000 more in 2024. That’s an expansion of the industry workforce by 10% in two years, for just half the industry, in an industry that normally grows in total 3%/yr. This industry can’t grow that fast. This may have some impact if over-capacity growth results in a potential reduction or extension in future forecast. You can’t increase spending that fast if you can’t also expand the labor force and the suppliers to the industry that fast.
In the last 12 months, Dec’22 to Dec’23, Nonres Bldgs jobs are up 4%. Nonres Bldgs spending is up 23%, by far driven by Manufacturing, but after ~5.4% inflation, volume of nonres bldgs workload is up 16%. So, we have a 4% increase in jobs versus a 16% increase in volume.
The last year has shown a huge increase in the volume of nonres bldgs work, without an equal increase in jobs. Is this excess nonres bldgs jobs for the past three years now absorbing added workload, (a 4% increase in jobs but a 16% increase in volume), without collapsing the labor force or canceling the volume?
Non-building, over the next two years, could experience the same kind of growth spurt as Nonres Bldgs., a forecast increase in volume the next two years without an equal increase in jobs. Volume which was lower than jobs since 2021, is now increasing faster than jobs. Non-bldg volume is forecast up 6% to
8%/year the next 3 years. Jobs increase at an avg. 3.5%/year.
Residential volume has exceeded residential jobs all the way back to 2011. The recent decline in volume brings the two even, if the jobs hold the pace.
For as long as I can remember, the construction industry has been complaining of jobs shortages. And yet, as shown in the data mentioned above, jobs have increased multiples times greater than volume of work. With an exception for recession years, (2007-2010 and 2020), jobs increase at a rate of 2.5% to 3% per year. The greatest disparity between jobs and volume occurred in late 2022, when jobs growth had already resumed normal pace, but volume of work was still reeling from the effects of new construction starts that were canceled dating back to late 2020-early 2021. Recent volume growth at a much faster rate than jobs growth is now closing the gap.
When jobs increase without an equal increase in the volume of work, productivity declines. This recent increase in volume and the projected increase in volume in 2024, several points stronger than jobs, will offset some of the disparity which has been negative for a long time.
Reference Inflation Data Construction Inflation 2024
Reference Article The Next Forecast Challenge
Reference Article Midyear ’23 Jobs Outlook
Reference Article Reliability of Predicted Forecast
Reference Link to Web Dodge Construction News
Below is a downloadable 24 page PDF of the complete 2024 Outlook
Brief Notes on Mar2019 Construction Spending Report
5-1-19
Census released March spending today and from my point of view the numbers are showing a surprise downward shift. Nonresidential Buildings and Non-building Infrastructure both showed upward movement as expected but Residential spending posted the eight decline in nine months.
Construction Spending for March posted at $1.282 trillion, 1.5% below (my) expectations. Nonresidential increased BUT Residential is down 2% from Feb. Jan was revised down 4.6% and Feb revised down 5.6%.
Residential spending is now 8% below March 2018. The decline is about half in single family and half in renovations. Multi-family spending is up 11% year/year.
The only monthly gain in residential spending since July 2018 is in Dec, but in the nine months Jul to Mar spending is down 10%. Q1 2019 spending has dropped back to a level of Q1 2017. This is pushing my 2019 residential spending forecast into a decline, 1st decline since 2010.
I’ve posted reasons why I expect upward revisions to residential spending, but I question if revisions can turn around the current 10% decline from last July. It now looks like residential construction spending will NOT post any gains in 2019. That’s more serious than it first appears, since spending needs to increase at least 4% to 5% just to counter inflation. In other words, if residential spending in 2019 posts a 2% decline, real residential volume after inflation would decline by 6% or 7%.
In real volume, after adjusting for inflation, residential construction spending, as of March, is down 12.5% year over year. That hasn’t happened since 2009. Perhaps revisions will recover half that decline, but not all. Contrary to the decline in real volume, in the last year residential construction jobs are UP 3.5%.
Manufacturing currently appears stronger than it is expected to finish the year. Up 6% year-to-date and up 10% from last March, we could see those gains fall off over the next 6 months. Backlog is still very strong, but the schedule of cash flows from old jobs will lead to several months of moderate declines. Initial forecast was for 2% growth in 2019. Current expectations are that manufacturing will finish the year up between 2% to 4%. 2020 will be an extremely strong growth year.
Office spending, similar to manufacturing, could post several months of moderate declines. In fact, my forecast shows office spending declines in 6 out of the next 7 months and finishes the year at the same monthly rate of spending as we are at now. Office is up 8.4% ytd but I expect the year to finish up 4% or less. Initial forecast was up 6% for 2019. New starts in 2018 were up 11% but most of that spending will benefit 2020 when I expect to see growth of 6%.
Commercial spending is currently down 4.8% ytd and 7% lower than last March. It will move slightly lower before it improves, finishing the year down only 1% to 2%. 2020 may not get more than a 1% gain.
Educational spending will finish 2019 much stronger than current spending but the year will only make slight gains over 2018. Current spending is up 5.5% ytd over 2018 but that will taper off. However, the strong activity in the 2nd half of 2019 will lead to substantial growth in 2020.
More notes will be added in the coming days as I review all other markets in the spending report.
Caution Reading the Recent 2018 Construction Spending $
3-19-19
Construction Spending for Jan was just released March 13th at $1.287 trillion saar, up 1.3% from Dec. But…
the most notable numbers in this March report are BIG REVISIONS DOWNWARD TO NOV (-2.3%) AND DEC (-2.2%), particularly to residential.
Residential revisions Nov -3.9%, Dec -4.4%.
Nonresidential revised down -0.8% in both Nov & Dec.
2018 total spending currently at $1.293 trillion, 2% below expected.
If these residential reports are correct, we have been in a residential construction spending downturn, now down 12% since last May. I predict these numbers are suspect.
Current total residential spending for 2018 in this most recent report is $545 billion, up 2.6% from 2017. But after deducting 4.4% residential inflation, that means real residential construction volume would be DOWN -1.8% for 2018. Yet, new starts in 2018 were up 6% and new residential jobs increased 3.5%.
However, in 2018 residential spending, the monthly variances from statistical rates of spending look very similar to 2006, up thru May then down 15% to year end.
Cash flow models of construction starts data from Dodge Data for residential spending spread over time indicate residential spending should be UP 3% since May, not down!
Just a reminder, we had a huge upward revision to 2015 residential spending data in July 2016. The 2018 data gets a big revision on July 1, 2019.
The monthly spending data gets revised three times after the 1st release. In the mean time, it can be compared to the statistical averages to determine if 1st reports, or even 2nd reports of spending are in line with expectations. The current Nov and Dec residential construction spending data varies from the statistical average by 3 to 4 standard deviations. That’s highly unusual!
To understand just how unusual that is, let’s compare to how rare any monthly spending varies by 2 standard deviations (StdDev) from the statistical monthly average:
Non-Builiding Infrastructure has varied by 2 StdDev only 5 times in 18 years, only once in the last 15 years, even including recessionary years.
Excluding recessionary years, Nonresidential Buildings varied by more than 2 StdDev only 12 times in 16 years and only 4 times in the last 8 years.
In both those data sets above, only twice ever in over 400 total months of data was the variance greater than 2.5 StdDev.
Excluding recessionary years, Residential Building monthly spending exceeded 2 StdDev from the average only 10 times in 14 years, all 10 times were in the last 8 years.
Recessionary years really skew the data. Non-building Infrastructure was the only sector not affected by the recession like all other construction. Residential spending was affected the most. In the four residential recessionary years, 2006-2009, residential monthly spending (in 48 months) exceeded 2 StdDev 28 times, 19 of those times 3 StdDev or greater.
In the residential data set, 5 of the 10 non-recessionary variances over 2 StdDev were in 2018. That simply does not occur in the historical data. That’s like having your teenage son grow an inch every year from 13 to 16 but then shrinking 2 inches in year 17. The average of those 5 unusual months in 2018 was 3.5 StdDev from the statistical average, with Nov and Dec posting the greatest variances since 2009.
The only time we’ve ever seen data like that was within the recession years of 2006-2009. So, either the 2018 residential data is foretelling the beginning of another recession, or the data, particularly the Nov and Dec data, will be subject to significant revisions, in this case upward.
Starts and cash flow expectations seem to indicate the 2018 data is currently being reported too low. I expect 2018 residential data will be revised up by $10bil to $15bil. We may not have that information until July 1, 2019.
2019 Construction Economic Forecast – Summary – Dec 2018
Construction Analytics 2019 Construction Economic Forecast
This Dec. 2018 Construction Economic Forecast analysis addresses New Construction Starts, Inflation, Cash Flow or distribution of construction work over time, Annual Backlog and Spending. New Starts is new work entering Backlog. Cash Flow gives the pattern of Spending. Inflation differentiates between Revenue and Volume. Backlog, which can be referenced to assess expected future Volume and Spending, provides an indication of when Volume occurs or in what year Revenues occur. Starts data is from Dodge Data & Analytics. Spending data is from the U.S. Census Bureau. Jobs data is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Inflation data is from the source labeled. Cash flow, Backlog and Inflation forecast data are developed internally. All data in this report is national level data. All forecast data is by Construction Analytics.
NOTE 12-6-18: Dodge Data and Analytics new construction starts for October, released 11-20-18, reached the 2nd highest seasonally adjusted annual rate ever, 2nd only to June 2018. Most spending from these new starts will occur in 2020. U.S. Census construction spending for October posted large reductions to several months of residential spending. Construction Starts for October, the Dodge end-of-year report and October spending, all released between 11-21-18 and 12-3-18 significantly alter this analysis, by far most of the 2019 and 2020 changes are significant reductions in residential spending. See the 2019 Construction Economic Forecast – Nonresidential for detail on all nonresidential and non-building markets
This analysis was edited to include the most recent starts data and the U S Census October spending data.
For a fully formatted PDF of this Report click
2019 Construction Economic Forecast – Summary – Dec 2018
Link to the 2019 Nonresidential Forecast Report
2019 Construction Economic Forecast – Nonresidential – Nov 2018
Summary
Total of All construction spending is forecast to increase 6.0% to $1.321 trillion in 2018 and 1.5% to $1.341 trillion in 2019. Spending in 2020 is forecast to reach $1.426 trillion.
Nonresidential Buildings construction spending is forecast to increase 5.8% to $444 billion in 2018, dip -0.2% to $443 billion in 2019 and climb 8.9% to $482 billion in 2020. Office (which includes data centers) and Amusement/Recreation support the 2019 but there is downward pressure from slowdowns or timing of cash flow in Manufacturing, Lodging, Healthcare and Educational. Educational, Healthcare, Recreation, Office and Manufacturing all support growth in 2020.
Residential construction spending for 2018 was recently revised down and starts for 2019 are expected flat to down slightly. The forecast is now for an increase of 5.6% to $562 billion in 2018, 0.5% to $564 billion in 2019 and 2.3% to $577 billion in 2020. Although residential spending is still increasing, growth has slowed to less than inflation. Real volume after inflation is declining.
Nonbuilding Infrastructure construction spending is forecast to increase 7.2% to $316 billion in 2018, 5.5% to $334 billion in 2019 and 9.9% to $367 billion in 2020. Transportation spending provides strong growth for the next three years from record new starts in 2017 and the 2nd best year of starts in 2018. Public Works had strong growth in 2018 starts and Highway starts hit a new high in 2018.
In July of the following year the spending data for the previous two years gets revised. Those revisions are always up, although some markets may increase while others decrease. So, even though the current forecast for 2018 is $1,321 trillion, a gain of 6.0%, that will most likely increase.
Dodge Data construction starts are initially anticipated to finish 2018 flat compared to 2017. However, starts are always revised upward in the following year. I expect revisions will show 2018 starts increased by 4% over 2017. Even with revisions, 2018 starts will post the slowest growth since 2011. Starts increased 84% in the period 2012-2017, residential 150% and nonresidential buildings 80%. This forecast includes only a total of 10% new starts growth for the 3-year period 2018-2020.
Starting backlog, currently at an all-time high, increased on average 10%/year the last three years. For 2019 starting backlog is forecast up 10% over 2018. 80% of all Nonresidential spending within the year will be generated from projects in starting backlog. Due to long duration jobs, 2019 nonresidential buildings starting backlog is up 50% in the last 4 years. Current indications are that 2019 backlog will be up 6%-8% across all sectors.
Construction Inflation Indices
When construction is very actively growing, total construction costs typically increase more rapidly than the net cost of labor and materials. In active markets overhead and profit margins increase in response to increased demand. These costs are captured only in Selling Price, or final cost indices.
General construction cost indices and Input price indices that don’t track whole building final cost do not capture the full cost of inflation on construction projects.
Revenue is spending but real volume is spending minus inflation. Outside of recession years, nonresidential buildings construction spending year over year growth dropped below 4% only SIX times in 50 years. The long-term average inflation is 3.75%. Every year that spending dropped below 4% growth, nonresidential buildings real volume declined.
To differentiate between Revenue and Volume you must use actual final cost indices, otherwise known as selling price indices, to properly adjust the cost of construction over time.
Construction Analytics Nonresidential buildings inflation forecast for 2018 is 4.9%. Current reliable inflation forecasts range from 4.7% to 5.6%. Spending needs to grow at a minimum of 4.7% just to stay ahead of construction inflation. Inflation in this sector has been at 4% or higher the last four years.
Selling Price is whole building actual final cost. Selling price indices track the final cost of construction, which includes, in addition to costs of labor and materials and sales/use taxes, general contractor and sub-contractor margins or overhead and profit.
Construction Analytics Building Cost Index, Turner Building Cost Index, Rider Levett Bucknall Cost Index, Beck Cost Index and Mortenson Cost Index are all examples of whole building cost indices that measure final selling price of nonresidential buildings only. The individual average annual growth for all these indices over the past 4-years is 4.6%/year.
Producer Price Index (PPI) for Construction Inputs is an example of a commonly referenced construction cost index that does not represent whole building costs. The PPI tracks material cost at the producer level, not prices or bids at the contractor as-built level.
Engineering News Record Building Cost Index (ENRBCI) and RSMeans Cost Index are examples of commonly used indices that DO NOT represent whole building costs yet are commonly used to adjust project costs. The ENRBCI tracks a limited market basket of labor and materials. RSMeans holds the quantity of materials and labor for a building constant. Neither index addresses contractor margins. However, they are useful in that they also publish input cost indices from many cities. This provides a reference to compare those cities to the national average, but still, only for a limited basket of labor and materials. Neither gives any indication of the level of market activity in an area.
Residential construction saw a slowdown in inflation to only +3.5% in 2015. However, the average inflation for six years from 2013 to 2018 is 5.7%. It peaked at 8% in 2013. It climbed back over 5% for 2016 and currently is near 5.5% in 2018. Anticipate national average residential construction inflation for 2018 at least 5.5 % to 6%.
Nonresidential Buildings indices have averaged 4% to 4.5% over the last five years and have reached over 5% in the last three years. Nonresidential buildings inflation totaled 18% in the last four years. My forecast shows nonresidential buildings spending in 2018 will reach the fastest rate of growth in three years, which historically has led to accelerated inflation.
There are clear signs of increasing construction activity and a tightening construction labor market. The national construction unemployment rate recently posted below 4%, the lowest on record with data back to 2000. During the previous expansion it hit a low average of 5%. During the recession it went as high as 25%. The average has been below 5% for the last 18 months. An unemployment rate this low potentially signifies labor shortages. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for construction is at or near all-time highs. A tight labor market will keep labor costs climbing at the fastest rate in years. Labor shortages cause contractors to pay premiums over and above normal wage increases to keep workers from leaving. Some premiums accelerate labor cost inflation but are not recorded in published wage data.
Recent news of tariffs has extended beyond just steel. I calculated a 25% tariff on raw steel would add 1% to the cost of nonresidential steel buildings. Hi-rise residential buildings, if building is structural steel, would fall in this category. Wood framed residential impact would be small. A 25% increase in mill steel could add 0.65% to final cost of building just for the structure. It adds 1.0% for all steel in a building. If your building is not a steel structure, steel still potentially adds 0.35%.
Anticipate national average construction inflation for nonresidential buildings for 2018 and 2019, including steel impact, of 4.25% to 5.5%, rather than the long-term growth average of 4%. Adjust for any other yet unknown tariffs that may hit after Jan 1, 2019.
In the following plot, Construction Analytics Building Cost Index annual percent change for nonresidential buildings is plotted as a line against a bar chart background of the range of all other nonresidential building inflation indices. Usually the lows are formed by market basket input indices while the highs are formed by other selling price indices.
As noted above, some reliable nonresidential selling price indexes have been over 4% since 2014. Currently most selling price indices are over 5% inflation in 2018. Notice during that same period seldom did any input indices climbed above 3%.
Every index as published has its own base year = 100, generally the year the index was first created, and they all vary. All indices here are converted to the same base year, 2017 = 100, for ease of comparison. No data is changed from the original published indices.
Non-building Infrastructure indices are far more market specific than any other type of index. Reference specific Infrastructure indices rather than any average.
These links point to comprehensive coverage of the topic inflation and are recommended reading.
Click Here for Link to a 20-year Table of 25 Indices
Click Here for Cost Inflation Commentary – text on Current Inflation
Current$ vs Constant$
Comparing current $ spending to previous year spending does not give any indication if business volume is increasing. The inflation factor is missing. If spending is increasing at 5%/year at a time when inflation is 4%/year, real volume is increasing by only 1%.
The current Nonresidential buildings forecast of spending growth at 6.0% for 2018 would suggest that after inflation, nonresidential buildings construction volume is growing slightly. So expect volume growth in 2018, but next year 4.3% inflation and no spending growth is signaling a volume decline in 2019.
Nonresidential spending increased 43% since 2010, but there was 30% inflation. Real nonresidential volume since 2010 has increased by only 12%. Nonresidential jobs increased by 27% during that period, 15% greater than volume growth.
Residential spending increased by 110% since 2010, but after inflation, real residential volume increased by only 57%. Jobs increased by only 37%, 20% short of volume growth.
When comparing inflation adjusted constant dollars, 2018 spending will still be lower than all years from 1998 through 2007. In 2005 constant $ volume reached a peak at $1,450 billion. At current rates of growth, we would not eclipse the previous high before 2022.
Spending in current $ is 14% higher than the previous 2006 high spending.
Volume after adjusting for inflation is still 14% lower than the previous 2005 high volume.
Jobs and Volume
The period 2011-2017 shows both spending and jobs growth at or near record highs.
A spending forecast of 6.6%+ in 2018, or an increase of $83 billion in construction spending, demands a few words on jobs growth. Construction requires about 5000 workers for every added $1 billion in construction “volume”. But construction jobs growth seems to closely follow growth in spending. Construction jobs have increased by 400,000 in a year only four times in the last 50 years, each time accompanied by one of the four highest spending growth increases in 50 years. However, $80 billion in added spending is not the same as $80 billion in volume, and jobs needed is based on volume.
Although spending will increase 6.6%, construction inflation has been hovering near 4.5% for the last five years. Real volume growth in 2018 after inflation is expected to be near 2% or only $26 billion. That would mean the need, if there are no changes in productivity, is to add only about 130,000 additional jobs in 2018, a rate of growth that is well within reach. That is less than the average jobs growth for the last seven years.
Construction added 1,400,000 jobs in the last 5 years, an average of 280,000/year. The only time in history that exceeded jobs growth like that was the period 1993-99 with the highest 5-year growth ever of 1,483,000 jobs. That same 1993-99 period had the previous highest 5-year spending and volume growth going back to 1984-88.
Total spending increased 60%+ since 2010, but with 30% inflation. Real total volume since 2010 has increased by only about 30%. Jobs also increased by 30%, in balance with need. But the results are much different for Residential than Nonresidential.
Nonresidential spending increased 50% since 2010 with 35% inflation. Nonresidential volume since 2010 has increased by only 15%. Jobs increased by 27%, 12% in excess of volume growth.
Residential spending increased by 125% since 2010, but after 40% inflation, real residential volume increased by 85%. Jobs increased by only 40%, 45% short of volume growth.
Residential construction labor cannot be directly compared to residential volume because
- Some residential high-rise jobs, for example structure, are performed by firms whose primary activity is commercial construction. Those jobs are classified as nonresidential.
- Buildings that are multi-use commercial retail and residential, even lo-rise, may be built by contractors whose firms are classified nonresidential labor. The construction spending would be broken out to residential and nonresidential, but the labor would not.
- Some residential immigrant labor is not counted
For these reasons, it is best to simplify comparisons of spending activity to total labor.
For more on Jobs see Construction Jobs and Residential Construction Jobs Shortages
New Construction Starts
New construction starts for the six months in the 1st half 2018 reached an all-time high.
New Construction Starts three-month average for May-Jun-Jul is $840 billion, all-time high.
Year-to-date (YTD) 2018 starts are currently reported as up only 2% from 2017, but 2017 starts through September have already been revised up by 9%, 10% in nonresidential buildings, 16% in non-buildings and 3% in residential. 2018 starts will not be revised until next year. Revisions have always been up.
Revisions for the last 10 years averaged more than +7%/yr., with most of the upward revision in nonresidential buildings. Revisions to nonresidential buildings have been greater than 10%/year for the last 7 years. Therefore, 2018 starts growth is very likely under-reported.
All construction starts data in this report references Dodge Data & Analytics Starts Data.
Dodge releases its first forecast of next year’s starts every year in the 4th quarter. Last year the first forecast for 2018 was for starts to increase 3% to $765 billion. 2018 starts, based on data as of September, could reach $806 billion, but at first appearing to show no gain from 2017. That’s because 2017 has already been revised up by $50 billion. After 2018 revisions are posted next year, 2018 starts could reach $830-$840 billion. Dodge forecast 2019 starts at $808 billion, no change from 2018. This will be subject to two upward revisions.
- Previous year starts always later get revised upwards. Therefore, current year starts YTD growth is always understated. This analysis compensates for that.
- New starts will generate record high starting backlog for every sector in 2019.
- Even a low forecast for starts in 2019 produces record backlog for 2020.
For nonresidential buildings spending, long duration jobs can sometimes have a 5 to 6-year schedule. On average most years have at least some projects start that will be under construction for 4 years. For an entire year’s worth of starts, approximately 20% of the spending occurs in the year started, 50% in the next year, 25% in the third year and only 5% in the fourth year or later year. Residential starts contribute spending into the third year. This means that nonresidential spending growth in 2019 is still being affected by starts from 2016 and residential growth from starts in 2017. This also means that nonresidential spending growth in 2019 is still being affected by starts from 2016.
The next two plots show the 3-month moving average and trend line of starts for Residential and Nonresidential Buildings. Starts can be erratic from month to month. The trend line gives a better impression of how starts impact spending. It is the rate of change in starts cash flows that provides a predicting tool for spending.
The plot below is an index. The plot shows greater accuracy in the forecast when the slope of the predicted cash flow and actual spending plot lines move in the same direction. It’s not the spread between the lines that gives any indication. If the slope of the lines is the same, then the cash flow accurately predicted the spending.
The light green line for nonresidential buildings spending estimated from starts cash flow shows smooth spending, even though actual monthly starts are erratic (see nonres bldgs plot shown above). The actual spending often follows close to the pattern estimated from cash flows.
Starts are sometimes misinterpreted in common industry forecasting articles. Starts dollar values represent a survey of about 50% to 60% of industry activity, therefore Starts dollar values cannot ever be used directly to indicate the volume of spending. Also, Starts do not directly indicate changes in spending per month or per year. Only by including an expected duration for all Starts and producing a forecast Cash Flow from Starts data can the expected pattern of spending be developed. Finally, it is the rate of change in Starts Cash Flows that gives an indication of the rate of change in spending.
Starting Backlog
Nonresidential Buildings starting backlog at the beginning of 2018 reached an all-time high. For nonresidential buildings this backlog will contribute spending until the end of 2021. 2019 Backlog is forecast to increase 8%. For purposes of this analysis, I’ve set only moderate or low increases in starts for 2020 and 2021, so this forecast may hold down the future backlog and spending forecast. However, backlog leading into 2019 is up 70% in 5 years.
Starting Backlog is the Estimate-to-Complete (ETC) value of all projects under contract at the beginning of a period. Projects in starting backlog could have started last month or last year or several years ago.
- 75%-80% of all Nonresidential Buildings spending within the year will be generated from projects in starting backlog.
- 80%-85% of all Non-Building Infrastructure spending within the year will be generated from projects in starting backlog.
- 70% of All Residential spending within the year is generated from new starts, but this is weighted because 85% of all residential work is short duration single family and renovation work.
- 65% on long duration Multifamily Residential spending within the year will be generated from projects in starting backlog.
Non-building Infrastructure starting backlog at the beginning of 2018 reached an all-time high. Some of this is very long-term work that will contribute spending until the end of 2025. In fact, more than half of all spending in 2019 comes from projects that started prior to Jan 2018. 2019 Backlog is forecast to increase 10%. Backlog is up 45% in 5 years but is up 50% in just the last 3 years.
Multifamily residential has a longer duration and a greater percentage of spending comes from backlog. But, due to the shorter duration of projects, about 75% of single family and residential renovation spending within the year is generated from new starts. Unlike nonresidential, backlog does not contribute nearly as much short-term residential spending within the year.
Cash Flow
Simply referencing total new starts or backlog does not give an indication of spending within the next calendar year. Projects, from start to completion, can have significantly different duration. Whereas a residential project may have a duration of 6 to 12 months, an office building could have a duration of 18 to 24 months and a billion-dollar infrastructure project could have a duration of 3 to 4 years. New starts within any given year could contribute spending spread out over several years. Cash flow totals of all jobs can vary considerably from month to month, are not only driven by new jobs starting but also by old jobs ending, and are heavily dependent on the type, size and duration of jobs.
Cash flow from all starts still in backlog supports a 2018 spending forecast of $1,321 billion, a spending increase of 6.0% over 2017. The forecast for 2019, based on a minimal increase in starts, is $1,341 billion, an increase of only 1.5% over 2018. Dodge initial November 2018 forecast for 2019 construction starts is for $808 billion, no gain over 2018. However, subsequent revisions may increase that a few percent.
The following table illustrates the difference between Starts and Cash flow. It shows Manufacturing Bldgs. projects in backlog as of October 2018 and predicted starts in 2018 through 2021. Note there are sometimes vast differences between amounts of Starts, whether already in Backlog at beginning of year or New Starts within the year, and Cash Flow from Backlog and New Starts.
Cash Flow modeling predicted a huge decline of -16% in manufacturing spending in 2017. This was in stark contrast to seven other economic analysts who predicted spending would be between -7% and +7%, for an average of +0.4% as reported in the January 2017 AIA Consensus. Manufacturing spending actually ended the year at -13.0%. Obviously, there is no correlation between a 25% increase in new starts within the year and a predicted -16% drop in spending. The actual -13% drop in 2017 spending reflects a return to normal after an unusually large volume of spending in 2015 and 2016 that was generated by a record volume of starts in 2014.
Note that new manufacturing starts were up 27% in 2017 and could be up 18% in 2018, yet 2018 spending is forecast to increase only 1.5%. This is due to projects that started several years ago but are now coming to an end. They are dropping out of the monthly cash flows and holding down 2018 spending even though starts have been up substantially for two years. This substantial volume of new starts in 2017 and 2018 will be providing a boost to spending in 2020 and 2021.
Spending
Total of All construction spending is forecast to increase 6.0% to $1.321 trillion in 2018 and 1.5% to $1.341 trillion in 2019 and 6.3% to $1.426 trillion in 2020.
Construction spending is strongly influenced by the pattern of continuing or ending cash flows from the previous two to three years of construction starts. Current month/month, year/year or year-to-date trends in starts often do not indicate the immediate trend in spending.
The following table clearly shows there is not a correlation between starts in any year with spending in either the current or the following year. The practice of using construction starts directly to predict spending can be very misleading in an industry that relies on data for predictive analysis to plan the future. Not only does it not predict the volume of spending in the following year, it does not even consistently predict the direction spending will take, up or down, in the following year. It’s a false indicator and it’s not a good use of data.
Residential Buildings Spending
Residential construction spending for 2018 was recently revised down and starts for 2019 are expected flat to down slightly. The forecast is now for an increase of 5.6% to $562 billion in 2018, 0.5% to $564 billion in 2019 and 2.3% to $577 billion in 2020.
Residential spending in 2018 slows after six years of growth all over 10%/year. Average spending growth the last seven years is 12%/year. Although Residential 2019 construction spending is still increasing slightly 0.5%, growth has slowed to less than inflation of 5%. Therefore real 2019 residential volume after inflation is forecast to decline by 4%+, the largest real volume decline since 2009. In 2018 residential spending increased 5.6%, but after inflation real volume increased only a fraction of a percent.
Residential spending in 2018 is 50% single family, 13% multi-family and 37% improvements. In 2011, improvements were 48% of residential spending.
Single Family Residential spending is more dependent on new starts within the most recent 12 months than on backlog from previous starts.
Total starts for the last 6 months are the highest since 2006, but % growth has slowed considerably. New starts in 2017 which initially posted only 2% growth have already been revised up to 4%. I expect that to be revised up to 5%. Growth of 7% is expected for 2018. Slower growth is now expected after 5 years (2012-2016) of starts increasing at an average 20%/year. Multi-Family Residential spending is more dependent on backlog.
Residential spending hits a 12-year high in 2018. Residential spending reached a current $ peak of $630 billion in 2005. 2018 pending is still 10% below that peak. In constant $, adjusted for inflation, all years from 1998 through 2007 were higher than 2018. In constant $, 2018 spending is still 27% below the 2005 peak.
Nonresidential Buildings Spending
Nonresidential Buildings construction spending is forecast to increase 5.8% to $444 billion in 2018, dip -0.2% to $443 billion in 2019 and climb 8.9% to $482 billion in 2020. Office (which includes data centers) and Amusement/Recreation support the 2019 but there is downward pressure from slowdowns or timing of cash flow in Manufacturing, Lodging, Healthcare and Educational. Educational, Healthcare, Recreation, Office and Manufacturing all support growth in 2020.
Nonresidential buildings construction spending in constant $ (inflation adjusted $) reached as high as $440 billion in 2017 but averaged only $419 billion in 2017. In 2018 it will reach a high of $430 billion but average only $424 billion. The yearly average recently peaked at $431 billion in 2016. Constant $ spending or real volume growth shows all years from 1996 through 2010 had higher volume than the 2018 forecast. Volume reached a peak $536 billion in 2000 and went over $500 billion again in 2008. In constant $ 2018 is still 20% below that 2000 peak.
Non-building Infrastructure Spending
Non-building Infrastructure construction spending is forecast to increase 7.2% to $316 billion in 2018, 5.5% to $334 billion in 2019 and 9.9% to $367 billion in 2020. The forecast growth for 2019 will be supported by Transportation and Public Works but will be held down somewhat by Highway. Transportation terminals and rail project starts both increased more than 100% in 2017 and both are long duration projects types that will contribute spending for several years. Environmental Public Works had strong 20% growth in 2018 starts and Highway starts hit a new high in 2018.
Non-building Infrastructure construction spending in constant $ (inflation adjusted $) reached $311 billion in 2016, an all-time high, but then dropped to $296 billion in 2017. In 2018 it will reach $302 billion. Constant $ spending or real volume growth has been within +/- 3% for the last 5 years.
Non-building Infrastructure spending, always the most volatile sector, in mid-2017 dropped to 2013 lows. However, this short dip was predicted. Cash flow models of Infrastructure starts from the last several years predicted that dips in monthly spending would be caused by uneven project closeouts from projects that started several years ago, particularly in Power and Highway markets.
Current backlog is at an all-time high, up 10%+ each of the last 3 years, and spending is expected to follow the increased cash flows from the elevated backlog. Transportation terminals new starts in 2017 jumped 120%. Rail project starts increased more than 100%. Starting backlog for all transportation work is the highest ever, up 100% in the last two years. Transportation spending is projected to increase 20-25%/year for the next two years.
No future growth is included from infrastructure stimulus and yet 2018 spending is projected to increase by 8%. 2019 and 2020 are forecast to increase 5% to 6%.
Public Infrastructure and Public Institutional
Less than 60% of all Non-building Infrastructure spending, about $170 billion, is publicly funded. That public subset of work averages growth of less than $10 billion/year.
About 25% of all Nonresidential Buildings spending, about $110 billion, is publicly funded, mostly Educational. Nonresidential buildings spending makes up almost 40% of Public spending.
- Infrastructure = $300 billion, ~25% of all construction spending.
- Infrastructure is about 60% public, 40% private. In 2005 it was 70% public.
- Public Infrastructure = $170 billion. Private Infrastructure = $130 billion.
- Power and Communications are privately funded infrastructure.
- Nonresidential Buildings is 25% public (mostly institutional), 75% private.
- Educational, Healthcare and Public Safety are Public Nonres Institutional Bldgs
- Public Commercial construction is not included.
- Public Institutional = $100 billion, mostly Education ($70b).
Public Infrastructure + Public Institutional = $280 billion, 23% of total construction spending.
Public Infrastructure + Institutional average growth is $12 billion/year. It has never exceeded $30 billion in growth in a single year.
See also Publicly Funded Construction
See also Down the Infrastructure Rabbit Hole
Public Spending
Total public spending for 2018 is projected to finished up 9.5% at $320 billion. Every major public market is projected to finish up for 2018. By far, the largest Public spending increases for 2018 are Highway, Transportation, Sewer and Waste Disposal and Water Supply.
The two largest markets contributing to public spending are Highway/Bridge (32% of total public spending) and Educational (25%), together accounting for nearly 60% of all public construction spending. At #3, Transportation is only about 10% of public spending. Environmental Public Works combined makes up almost 15% of public spending, but that consists of three markets, Sewage/Waste Water, Water Supply and Conservation. Office, Healthcare, Public Safety and Amusement/Recreation each account for about 3%.
Educational is 80% public, Transportation 70%, Amusement/Rec 50% and Healthcare 20% public. Power is about 6% public, along with few other smaller shares.
Public spending hit a 4-year low in mid-2017. It has been increasing since then and is now near an all-time high. I’m expecting to see strong growth through 2020.
Due to long duration job types, 2018 starting backlog is up 30% in the last 3 years. In 2018, 40% of all spending comes from jobs that started before 2017. Leading 2018 growth are Educational (+15%) and Transportation (+35%), with a combined total forecast 20% growth in public spending.
Current levels of backlog and predicted new starts gives a projection that Public Non-building Infrastructure spending will reach an all-time high in 2018 and again in 2019.
For a Full Formatted PDF of this Report click
2019 Construction Economic Forecast – Summary – Dec 2018
Link to the 2019 Nonresidential Forecast Report
2019 Construction Economic Forecast – Nonresidential – Nov 2018
Construction Spending June 2018
8-1-18
U. S. Census posted Construction Spending for June at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $1,317 billion, down 1.1% from an upwardly revised May. Year-to-date, June spending is up 5.1% from 2017.
May was revised UP 1.7% from the 1st release posted 7-2-18. April was revised UP 0.8%.
Construction Spending for the 1st half 2018, in Current $, averages $1,307 billion. This is an all-time high, well above the pre-recession high spending of $1,205 billion posted in the 1st quarter of 2006. Spending has been above the 2006 high since the 4th quarter 2016. Spending total is expected to average $1,330 billion for 2018.
Constant $ shows volume reached peak during the 2nd half 2005 and 1st half 2006, with 2005 posting the peak year. 2018 constant $ inflation adjusted spending is still 14% below the 2005-2006 peak.
Total spending year to date through June is $620 billion. Historically, only 47% of annual spending occurs in the 1st 6 months. Jan, Feb and Mar are the weakest months of the year, while Jul, Aug and Sep are the strongest spending months. Therefore, this indicates a 2018 total annual spending of $1,328 billion. This agrees very close to my total 2018 spending forecast.
The headline from the St Louis Fed > Total construction spending fell 1.1% in June, the largest monthly drop in more than a year. Just remember, spending subsequently gets revised 3x and final vs 1st release has been revised UP 79 times in the last 84 months.
Top performing construction spending markets 2018 year-to-date through June are Transportation +14.3%, Public Safety +12.1%, Lodging +10.7%, Water Supply +9.7%, Sewage and Waste Disposal +9.2%, Residential +8.1% and Office 6.8%.
The only markets down year-to-date are Religious -9.1%, Manufacturing -8.7% and Power -0.4%. Religious building as a percent of total is so small (1/4 of 1%) it has negligible effect on total annual performance. However, Manufacturing and Power make up about 15% of total construction.
Residential, Office, Commercial/Retail, Lodging, Highway and Environmental Public Works (Sewage, Water, Conservation) are all ahead of expectations for the 1st half of 2018.
June construction spending data shows an unusual $9 billion (SAAR) monthly decline (-9.3%) in Educational spending. This is several billion greater than the largest decline reported during the recession, so this looks like an anomaly in the data. There has never been a monthly decline like this in the Educational market since I’ve been tracking data, back to 2001. It is double the largest non-recession decline. I expect it will be revised up substantially at some point in the future.
Transportation is another market that appears to be unusually low for June. Because the monthly variance is not wildly out of balance it passes in obscurity. But here’s what we should see. Transportation (terminals and rail) new starts in 2016 increased 34% and then in 2017 increased 120%. Most of those projects will be completed in 3 years or less, but a number of the huge projects (no less than 15 projects ranging from $1 billion to $4 billion each) have a duration of 4 to 8 years. Even with long duration cash flow spreading out the spending for all those big projects, my analysis still predicts Transportation spending up 30% in 2018. Year-to-date through June, Transportation spending is up only 14%. I’ve forecast it should be up 18%. That’s a total shortfall of about $1 billion (SAAR ~$12 billion), or about 7%/month, for 3 months. April, May and June spending are all below expectations. I expect future revisions will increase current values. Also, we will see a big jump in year-to-date over the next three months since we are currently at an SAAR above $50 billion (and increasing) and Jul-Aug-Sep were the three lowest months in 2017, below $43 billion. Also, 2017 values were revised up 4%/month after the close of the year.
Manufacturing spending as of June is reported down 8.7% year-to-date from 2017. That decline will slowly turn positive in the second half of the year to finish up 2%. Spending is currently at an SAAR above $65 billion and expected to increase through December. In 2017, spending started the year above $70 billion but decreased to $60 billion by year end. Increasing values in the 2nd half 2018 compared to decreasing values in 2017 will continually increase the year-to-date performance in the 2nd half of 2018.
Power, similar to manufacturing, posted the highest spending for 2017 early in the year, then declined. In 2018, the 1st half posted the lowest spending, so the year-to-date is currently low. Increased spending in the 2nd half 2018, compared to the lowest values of the year in 2017, will boost year-to-date spending every month through year end. Although year-to-date spending through June is down 0.4%, the total for the year could finish up 9%.
Manufacturing and Power highlight one of the biggest shortfalls of judging expected performance based on year-to-date change. It is important to look at the trend line expected in the current year versus the trend line in the previous year. If they diverge, then year-to-date change will not give a clear indication of expected performance in the current year.
Total spending has increased from an average of $1,254 billion in Q4’17 to $1,292 billion in Q1’18 to $1,321 billion in Q2’18, growth of 3.0% and 2.25% the last two quarters. I’m expecting the rate of monthly spending will be above $1,360 billion by year end. The total spending forecast for 2018 is $1,330 billion.
Residential single family spending is up 9% YTD. Multifamily is down ~1%. Total residential spending is forecast to reach $566 billion in 2018, growth of 6.4% over 2017.
Nonresidential Buildings spending YTD totals $207 billion, up only 1.9% from 2017. It is being held down by Manufacturing which is currently down 8.7% from 2017. Also, the anomaly in Educational spending, explained above, contributes to the current low performance. 2018 forecast is $445 billion, 6.2% growth over 2017, with best growth in Lodging 13%, Office 11% and Amusement/Recreation 9%.
Non-building Infrastructure will post the best year of growth since 2014 to reach a new all-time high at $319 billion. Transportation, by far, will show the best growth, nearly 30% above 2017.
June Construction Starts Reach New Highs 7-25-18
2018 Construction Spending Forecast – Mar 2018
3/15/18
Preliminary data is in for total year 2017 construction spending, 2017 construction starts and 2018 starting backlog. The following forecast is developed using the current data.
2018 Construction Spending Forecast – Mar 2018
A brief note on 2017.
2017 Spending Wrap Up
Total construction spending in 2017 now stands at $1.233 trillion, an increase of 4.0% over 2016.
Residential spending, up 10.5% for the fifth consecutive year above 10% growth, leads all construction spending in 2017 for the seventh consecutive year. Nonresidential Buildings finished the year up 2.3%. Only Non-building Infrastructure did not improve over 2016, down 3.8% for the year. However, Non-building Infrastructure had been at an all-time high for the previous two years.
2017 spending finished below my forecast due to performance in Educational, Office, Power and Highway, four of the five largest markets which together make up half of all nonresidential spending. All came in lower than forecast. However, some of these markets are prone to very large post-annual upward revisions and that has the potential to add to 2017 spending when those revisions are released in July 2018. For instance, in the July 2017 revisions, Power spending for the previous year, 2016, was revised up by 10%.
History shows spending has been revised up 53 times in the last 60 months. I expect to see future revisions smooth out spending in unusually low periods and increase total 2017 spending above this forecast. Both April and July preliminary spending appear statistically too low. The average post-annual total spending revision for the last five years is +2.8%. The post-annual revision to 2016 was only 2.2%. Revisions due for release on July 1, 2018, if even only a +1% revision to 2017, would adjust total 2017 spending up to $1,245 billion. This would slightly alter the 2018 forecast.
2018 Spending Total All Construction
Total All 2018 construction spending is forecast to increase 7.6% to $1.330 trillion.
Nonresidential Buildings spending forecast for 2018, up 9%, will be supported by Manufacturing and Educational. Non-building Infrastructure returns to strong growth of 8%, with potential to hit a new all-time high due to very large projects in Power and Transportation. Residential spending in 2018 slows to growth under 6% after six years all over 10%/year.
Dodge Data 2017 construction starts increased 3% from 2016. However, starts are always revised upward in the following year. I expect revisions will show 2017 starts increased by more than 6% over 2016. Even with that revision, 2017 starts posted the lowest growth since 2011, weighted heavily by the slowdown in residential starts.
Total starting backlog for 2018, currently at an all-time high, has increased on average 10%/year the last three years. 80% of all Nonresidential spending within the year will be generated from projects in starting backlog. Public share of new construction starts are up only 10% in 3 years. But due to long duration job types, 2018 starting backlog is up 30% in the last 3 years.
None of this spending forecast includes any projections for potential work from future infrastructure stimulus.
Current$ vs Constant$
Construction spending reached a new current $ high in 2017 at $1,236 billion. The previous high in current $ was $1,161 in 2006. Spending first surpassed that in 2014 and has been increasing since. But that is in current $, which includes inflation.
Comparing current $ spending to previous year spending does not give any indication if business is increasing. The inflation factor is missing. If spending is increasing at 4%/year in a time when inflation is 6%/year, real volume is declining by 2%.
Although 2018 current $ spending will reach $1,330 billion, after adjusting for 4.5% to 5% inflation, 2018 constant $ volume will increase to only $1,270 billion. When comparing inflation adjusted constant dollars, 2018 spending will still be lower than all years from 1998 through 2007. In 2005 constant $ volume reached a peak at $1,450 billion. At current rates of growth, we would not eclipse the previous high before 2022.
While spending in current $ is 7% higher than the previous high spending, volume is still 14% lower than the previous high volume.
For more on Inflation Adjusted spending see Construction Spending is Back
Jobs and Volume
The period 2011-2017 shows both spending and jobs growth at or near record highs.
A spending forecast of 7%+ in 2018, or nearly $100 billion in construction spending, demands a few words on jobs growth. Construction requires about 5000 workers for every added $1 billion in construction volume. Construction jobs have never increased by 500,000 in one year. However, $100 billion in added spending is not the same as $100 billion in volume, and jobs growth is based on volume.
Although spending will increase 7%-8%, construction inflation has been hovering near 4.5% to 5% for the last five years. Real volume growth in 2018 after inflation is expected to be near 3% or $40 billion. That would mean the need, if there are no changes in productivity, is to add only about 200,000 additional workers in 2018, a rate of jobs growth that is well within reach. That is less than the average jobs growth for the last seven years.
Construction added 1,339,000 jobs in the last 5 years, an average of 268,000/year. The only time in history that exceeded jobs growth like that was the period 1993-99 with the highest 5-year growth ever of 1,483,000 jobs. That same 1993-99 period had the previous highest 5-year spending and volume growth going back to 1984-88.
Construction added 185,000 jobs in the last 4 months, Nov17-Feb18. That’s happened, for any 4-month period, only 5 times since 1984. The last time was 2005-06, during the fastest rate of spending increases since 1984.
Total all spending increased 55% since 2010, but there was 30% inflation. Real total volume since 2010 has increased by only 25%. Jobs increased by 30%, 5% in excess of volume growth. But the results are much different for Residential than Nonresidential.
Nonresidential spending increased 43% since 2010, but there was 30% inflation. Real nonresidential volume since 2010 has increased by only 12%. Jobs increased by 27%, 15% in excess of volume growth.
Residential spending increased by 110% since 2010, but after inflation, real residential volume increased by only 57%. Jobs increased by only 37%, 20% short of volume growth.
For more on Jobs see Construction Jobs and Residential Construction Jobs Shortages
Residential Buildings Spending
Total Residential spending in 2017 finished at $523 billion, up 10.6% from 2016. This is the 5th consecutive year that residential spending exceeded 10% annual growth. Average spending growth the last six years is 13%/year.
Residential spending in 2017 was 50% single family, 13% multi-family and 37% improvements. In 2011, improvements was 48% of residential spending.
Census does not include flood damage repairs (house shell remains intact but gut renovate) in improvements but does include full flood damaged structure replacements (structure rebuild permit classified as new) in improvements.
Residential spending is more dependent on new starts within the most recent 12 months than on backlog from previous starts. Total starts for the last 6 months are the highest since 2006, but % growth has slowed considerably. New starts in 2017 posted only 2% growth, but I expect that to be revised up to at least 4%. Similar growth of 6%-7% is expected for 2018. Slower growth is now expected after 5 years (2012-2016) of new starts increasing at an average 20%/year.
Residential 2018 spending growth is forecast to increase only 6% after five years over 10%. Total residential spending in 2018 is forecast at $552 billion.
Residential spending will reach a 12-year high in 2018. Residential spending reached its current $ peak of $630 billion in 2005. Current 2018 pending is still 13% below that peak. In constant $, adjusted for inflation, all years from 1998 through 2007 were higher than 2018. In constant $, 2018 spending is still 27% below the 2005 peak.
Residential buildings construction spending in constant $ reached $523 billion in 2017. Previous spending adjusted to equivalent 2017$ shows that all years from 1996 through 2007 had higher volume than 2017. Volume reached a peak $748 billion in 2005. Only the years 2004-2006 had higher spending in current $. The 2005 current $ peak of $630 billion is still 17% higher than 2017, but 2017 volume is still 30% lower than peak volume.
Nonresidential Buildings Spending
Nonresidential Buildings spending in 2017 finished at $419 billion, up only 2.7% from 2016.
2017 spending finished below my forecast due to performance in Educational and Office. Educational starts increased 6%+/year for the last three years, but spending increased only 4%/year the last two years. Office starts increased nearly 30% in 2016, but spending increased only 3% in 2017. I suspect either big upward revisions to 2017 spending or large increases in backlog will boost 2018 spending in these two markets.
Nonresidential Buildings new starts are up 60% in four years. 2018 starting backlog is the highest ever, up 15% from 2017. Nonresidential Buildings 2018 starting backlog is 50% higher than at the start of 2014, the beginning of the current growth cycle.
Starting backlog has increased for five years at an average 10%/year. Spending from starting backlog, up 10% in 2018, increased for five years at an average 9%/year.
For 2018, Educational spending is projected to increase 14%, the best increase since 2007. Starting backlog increased 10%/year for the last three years. Manufacturing posted several very large project starts in 2017. Spending is projected to increase 12% in 2018.
Nonresidential Buildings spending in 2018 is forecast to reach a new high, $459 billion, an increase of 9.5% over 2017, surpassing the previous 2008 high. Educational and Manufacturing make up 55% of the growth.
For the Full Expanded 2018 Construction Spending Forecast – Nonresidential Bldgs
Nonresidential buildings construction spending in constant $ (inflation adjusted $) reached $419 billion in 2017. In 2018 it will reach $439 billion. Constant $ spending shows all years from 1996 through 2010 had higher volume than the 2018 forecast. Volume reached a peak $536 billion in 2000 and went over $500 billion again in 2008. In constant $ 2018 is still 18% below that 2000 peak.
Non-building Infrastructure Spending
Total non-building infrastructure spending in 2017 dropped to $293 billion, down 3.7% from 2016.
Non-building Infrastructure spending, always the most volatile sector, dropped to yearly lows from June through September, the lowest since November 2014. However, this short dip was predicted. Cash flow models of Infrastructure starts from the last several years predicted that dips in monthly spending would be caused by uneven project closeouts from projects that started several years ago, particularly in Power and Highway markets.
Current backlog is at an all-time high and spending is expected to follow the increased cash flows from the elevated backlog. Environmental Public Works (Sewage/Waste disposal down 14%, Water Supply down 9% and Conservation/Dams & Rivers down 7% in 2017) posted the largest declines in 2017 and accentuated the declines in the infrastructure sector. The sector was expected to increase in the last quarter 2017. All three markets posted increases in the 4th quarter, up 8% over the 1st nine months of 2017.
Non-building Infrastructure 2018 starting backlog is the highest ever, up 10%+ each of the last 3 years. Transportation terminals new starts in 2017 jumped 120%. Rail project starts increased more than 100%. Starting backlog for all transportation work is the highest ever, up 100% in the last two years. Transportation spending is projected to increase 20-25%/year for the next two years.
No future growth is included from infrastructure stimulus and yet 2018 spending is projected to increase by 8%.
Non-building Infrastructure will reach a new high for spending in 2018. Spending reached an all-time high in 2015 and stayed within 0.3% of that high for 2016. A 3.5% decline in 2017 was more of a decline than expected, but there may still be upward revisions to the preliminary total.
Non-building Infrastructure spending in 2018 is forecast to reach $319 billion, an increase of 8.6% over 2017.
My forecast for 2018 is predicting every infrastructure market will post gains, but it is the Power and Transportation markets that account for most of the growth in 2018. Transportation new starts in 2017 grew 120% due to massive new air terminal and rail projects. Spending growth in the Power market is not quite so apparent. Combined Power new starts are down for both 2016 and 2017, but the spending gains are coming from projects that started in 2015, a year in which starts were up over 120%.
Adjusted for inflation, spending in 2018 will be nearly equal to the all-time highs reached in 2015 and 2016.
Non-building Infrastructure construction spending in constant $ reached $294 billion in 2017. Recent highs were posted in 2015 and 2016 at $305 billion and $304 billion and 2018 is expected to reach $319 billion. Previous spending adjusted to equivalent 2017$ shows that 2008 and 2009 were both just slightly higher than $300 billion. Constant $ volume reached a peak $313 billion in 2016. Spending in current $ hit new highs in 2015 and 2016. This is the only sector that has current $ and constant $ at or near all-time highs.
Public Infrastructure and Public Institutional
Only 60% of all Non-building Infrastructure spending, about $170 billion, is publicly funded. That public subset of work averages growth of less than $10 billion/year.
Only about 25% of all Nonresidential Buildings spending, about $100 billion, is publicly funded, mostly Educational.
- Infrastructure = $300 billion, 25% of all construction spending.
- Infrastructure is about 60% public, 40% private. In 2005 it was 70% public.
- Public Infrastructure = $170 billion. Private Infrastructure = $130 billion.
- Power and Communications are privately funded infrastructure.
- Nonresidential Buildings is 25% public (mostly institutional), 75% private.
- Educational, Healthcare and Public Safety are Public Nonres Institutional Bldgs
- Public Commercial construction is not included.
- Public Institutional = $100 billion, mostly Education ($70b).
Public Infrastructure + Public Institutional = $270 billion, 23% of total construction spending.
Public Infrastructure + Institutional average growth is $12 billion/year. It has never exceeded $30 billion in growth in a single year.
See also Publicly Funded Construction
See also Down the Infrastructure Rabbit Hole
Public Spending
Public construction is a subset of Nonresidential Buildings and Non-building Infrastructure and about 1% of Residential.
The two largest markets contributing to public spending are Highway/Bridge (32% of total public spending) and Educational (26%), together accounting for nearly 60% of all public construction spending. At #3, Transportation is only about 10% of public spending. Environmental Public Works combined makes up almost 15% of public spending, but that consists of three markets, Sewage/Waste Water, Water Supply and Conservation. Office, Healthcare, Public Safety and Amusement/Recreation each account for about 3%.
2017 spending was down 1%, but has been at or near the all time high for three years.
Total public spending for 2017 finished flat at $284 billion with most major public markets down for the year. By far, the largest Public spending declines in 2017 are Sewer and Waste Disposal which is 7% of public markets, it was down 16% and Highway/Bridge, down only 3.5%, but Highway is 32% of all public spending.
Public spending hit a low in June 2017. It has been increasing since then, Public Educational, in the second half 2017 up 10% from the low point, now at a post recession high. We can expect to see another six months of growth before spending levels off in mid-2018.
Due to long duration job types, 2018 starting backlog is up 30% in the last 3 years. In 2018, 40% of all spending comes from jobs that started before 2017. Leading 2018 growth are Educational (+15%) and Transportation (+35%), with a combined total forecast 20% growth in public spending.
Current levels of backlog and predicted new starts gives a projection that Public Non-building Infrastructure spending will reach an all-time high in 2018 and again in 2019.
Total Public spending in 2018 is forecast to reach $307 billion, an increase of 8% over 2017, the best growth in 10 years.
Educational and Transportation will contribute equally and together account for almost 60% of the Public spending growth in 2018. Transportation new starts in 2017 grew 120% due to massive new air terminal and rail projects. Educational new starts total for the last three months posted the highest quarter in at least seven years. The 2nd highest quarter was also within the last 12 months, so still contributes fully to 2018 spending. 2018 signifies a turn-round in Public spending which has not posted significant growth since the recession.
Public spending is 10%, $30 billion, below 2009 all-time highs, most of the deficit coming from declines in Educational, Sewage/Waste Water and Water Supply. In 2018, Highway and Transportation are at all-time highs.
Click here for a formatted printable PDF Construction Spending Forecast – Summary Mar 2018
See these posts for additional info
2018 Construction Spending Forecast – Nonresidential Bldgs
Starts Trends Construction 2018 Forecast – Fall 2017 11-8-17
Backlog Construction 2018 Forecast – Fall 2017 11-10-17
For more on Jobs see Construction Jobs / Workload Balance 11-7-17
For effects of inflation see Constant Dollar Construction Growth 11-2-17
Construction Activity Notes 4-25-18
Notes on March 2018 Construction Spending
Construction Analytics 