6 must reads for the AEC industry today: September 22, 2020

1. Wings clipped, airports veer to tech to regain passenger trust (BD+C)
"The impact of the coronavirus on airport construction and renovation has been mixed. Paul Dorsey, Vice President-Aviation for Manhattan Construction, cautions that the industry must come to grips with the distinct likelihood that some businesses will permanently limit corporate travel in favor of virtual meetings."

2. Washington is the US state with the most value of construction projects underway, says GlobalData (GlobalData)
"Of the top 10 largest projects in the Washington state, nine were in the execution stage as of August 2020."

3. Construction employment declined in 39 states between August 2019 and 2020 (AGC)
"California lost the most construction jobs (-52,000, -5.8%) between August 2019 and August 2020, followed by New York (-46,000, -11.3%); Texas (-39,300 jobs, -5.0%); Massachusetts (-20,200 jobs, -12.4%) and Illinois (-17,200 jobs, -7.5%)."

4. No ease of lumber price spikes in sight (BD+C)
"Wildfires strike Northwest timber industry in wake of Covid-19 shutdowns."

5. Soothing multifamily tenants' fears about pathogens isn't insurmountable (Bisnow)
"The coronavirus pandemic derailed the multifamily industry after years of steadily rising rents, occupancy rates and robust new development. But after hunkering down throughout the late spring and summer, providers say they were able to keep buildings filled and are now ready to meet new demands from safety-minded tenants."

6. AMC’s CEO describes coronavirus precautions, including upgraded air filtration at reopened theaters (CNBC)
"Our theater cleanliness scores are the best they’ve been in decades, an all-time high, AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron said on Squawk Box."

Inflation may be starting to show some signs of cooling, but the Fed isn’t backing down anytime soon and the impact is becoming more noticeable in the architecture, engineering, and construction (A/E/C) space. The overall A/E/C outlook continues a downward trend and this is driven largely by the freefall happening in key private-sector markets.

Hotel Facilities | Jan 23, 2023

U.S. hotel construction pipeline up 14% to close out 2022

At the end of 2022’s fourth quarter, the U.S. construction pipeline was up 14% by projects and 12% by rooms year-over-year, according to Lodging Econometrics.

Products and Materials | Jan 18, 2023

Is inflation easing? Construction input prices drop 2.7% in December 2022

Softwood lumber and steel mill products saw the biggest decline among building construction materials, according to the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index.

Market Data | Jan 10, 2023

Construction backlogs at highest level since Q2 2019, says ABC

Associated Builders and Contractors reports today that its Construction Backlog Indicator remained unchanged at 9.2 months in December 2022, according to an ABC member survey conducted Dec. 20, 2022, to Jan. 5, 2023. The reading is one month higher than in December 2021.

Market Data | Jan 6, 2023

Nonresidential construction spending rises in November 2022

Spending on nonresidential construction work in the U.S. was up 0.9% in November versus the previous month, and 11.8% versus the previous year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Industry Research | Dec 28, 2022

Following a strong year, design and construction firms view 2023 cautiously

The economy and inflation are the biggest concerns for U.S. architecture, construction, and engineering firms in 2023, according to a recent survey of AEC professionals by the editors of Building Design+Construction.