7 must reads for the AEC industry today: June 19, 2020

1. Brown University tops off first housing building in three decades (BD+C)
"The facility, scheduled for completion next April, will combine a residence hall with student health services."

2. AIA releases strategies and illustrations for reducing risk of COVID-19 in schools (AIA)
"For the 2020-21 school year, districts are facing the difficult task of determining if K-12 schools will reopen this fall."

3. New data shows construction activity returning to pre-coronavirus levels in many parts of the country (AGC)
"Association survey and data collected by Procore measure impacts of the pandemic, showing signs of a construction recovery, but labor shortages and project cancellations show industry needs federal help."

4. Demand for family rentals expected to jump over next few years (BD+C)
"Developers’ focus on single, urban millennials leaves family market underserved."

5. Rush to disinfect offices has some environmental health experts worried (Bloomberg)
"The EPA list of approved cleaning agents for the coronavirus includes some that haven’t been proven safe for humans."

6. Assisted living looks for an assist (Bloomberg)
"Nursing homes have become the focal point of America’s coronavirus crisis, with more than one-third of the nation’s deaths occurring among residents. The outsized attention has another industry that cares for some of the most vulnerable people feeling left out."

7. COVID Is accelerating Millennials’ move from apartments to single-family rentals (National Real Estate Investor)
"Big SFR operators reported slight growth in leasing rates in the months since the lockdowns started."

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.