Recent construction industry statistics show that after years of stagnation, US construction industry growth rates are increasing to their highest level in nearly eight years.
Gilbane Building Company, a global construction and facilities management firm based in Providence, Rhode Island, reported the highly encouraging industry growth data in its spring, 2015 “Building for the Future” economic report. The report’s results were cited in an article by industry journalist Jeff Yoders on the Metal Miner website.
According to Yoders, the Gilbane report indicates that nonresidential construction projects begun over the last 12 months are expected to increase by at least 15 percent over 2014. This indicates the best annual growth rate in nonresidential construction since 2007, Yoders reported.
This 15 percent increase in construction growth will be maintained even if new nonresidential construction starts flattened out for the rest of 2015, according to Yoders. There is no indication, however, that construction spending is expected to go flat throughout the rest of 2015 or even beyond.
Yoders reported that new starts in nonresidential construction have been increasing, on average, 16 percent since the lowest post-recession point was reached in 2012.
Nonresidential starts between April 2014 and February 2015 also represent the best three-month and six-month averages since July 2008, according to Yoders.
The construction industry growth reported by Gilbane also means that demand for construction materials such as steel, copper, aluminum, and sheet metal will also increase in the coming months, Yoders noted.
The Gilbane report mirrors other industry sources that have seen upswings in growth for the construction industry in 2015 and beyond. For example, the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) reported increases in construction employment in more than 250 U.S. metropolitan areas between 2013 and 2014, which is expected to continue into 2015, with about 80 percent of construction companies expecting increased hiring in 2015.
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