RALEIGH, N.C., (April 5, 2013) – FMI, the largest provider of management consulting and investment banking services* to the engineering and construction industry released today its Q1-2013 Construction Outlook. Although the strength of individual markets is shifting, the forecast for total construction-put-in-place for 2013 continues to show an increase of 8% over 2012 levels. The $918,897 million estimate is a solid improvement, but FMI does not expect to return to the days of annual construction above the trillion-dollar mark until 2015.
The star of the show is residential buildings with a 23% rise in single-family buildings. While much of business sector is still in wait-and-see mode, some industries are breaking the mold and planning for growth. Commercial, lodging and office construction are starting to pick up.
The rich shale regions of the country are seeing a lot of construction activity. With oil and gas exploration booming, these regions are in need of housing, as well as the construction of roads, rail and pipelines to move the product from the fields to refining and distribution sites.
In addition, the potential for greater energy independence and lower energy prices is helping to make the U.S. more competitive in the global market and enticing more manufacturing to relocate in the U.S.
Residential Construction — Single-family housing put in place grew 19% in 2012, and FMI expects another 23% growth to reach $161 billion by the end of 2013. Multifamily construction improved a whopping 47% in 2012, with FMI looking for another 31% in 2013.
Nonresidential Construction Trends and Forecasts by Sector:
Lodging — After three years of steep declines, the market for lodging construction came back a strong 25% in 2012 and FMI expects another 10% growth in construction put in place for 2013.
Office — Office construction is finally showing a solid but slow turnaround with 5% growth in 2012 and another 5% increase expected in 2013.
Commercial — Commercial construction is the third largest nonresidential construction market behind education construction and manufacturing construction. That is why it is good to see that it continues into its third year of good growth, moving up 8% in 2012 and looking for another 7% to reach $50.3 billion in 2013.
Health care — Health care construction was moderate in 2012, growing only 3%, but FMI expects it to pick up in 2013 to 8% to $44.2 billion construction put in place for the year.
Manufacturing — Manufacturing construction increased 17% in 2012. It will continue with another 6% increase for 2013 through 2014.
Power-related — Construction for the power market grew 9% in 2012 and will continue to grow between 8% and 9% through 2017.
Related Stories
Architects | Dec 10, 2019
Calling all emerging architects: Enter to win the $20,000 Forge Prize
This annual steel design competition will recognize three Finalists ($10,000 each) and one Grand Prize Winner ($20,000 total) for their novel concepts in steel-based structures. Entries are due Jan. 15, 2020.
Architects | Dec 9, 2019
Jonathan Moody promoted to CEO of Moody Nolan
New four-member Executive Team also named.
Big Data | Dec 4, 2019
AEC data's coming out party
AEC firms are finally putting to use project information they’ve been storing in their computers for years.
Building Owners | Dec 2, 2019
What building owners and AEC teams need to know about New York’s Climate Mobilization Act
On April 18, 2019, the New York City Council passed the Climate Mobilization Act, a suite of laws aimed to meet the city’s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
| Nov 26, 2019
Steinberg Hart and Holzman Moss Bottino Architecture combine to elevate design, expand opportunities and strengthen client relationships
This union creates a national architecture firm with enhanced design capabilities and expertise.
| Nov 8, 2019
Philadelphia architecture firm EwingCole acquires Baltimore firm Gaudreau
Philadelphia architecture firm EwingCole acquires Baltimore firm Gaudreau.
Multifamily Housing | Nov 7, 2019
Multifamily construction market remains strong heading into 2020
Fewer than one in 10 AEC firms doing multifamily work reported a decrease in proposal activity in Q3 2019, according to a PSMJ report.
Architects | Oct 29, 2019
Top takeaways from the Lean Construction Institute Congress 2019
More than 1,600 Lean experts gathered in Texas this month for LCI Congress 2019. Here are key takeaways from the event.
Giants 400 | Oct 25, 2019
Top 50 Airport Sector Architecture Firms for 2019
AECOM, Gensler, HNTB, Corgan, and HOK top the rankings of the nation's largest airport terminal sector architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2019 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 24, 2019
Top 125 Retail Architecture Firms for 2019
CallisonRTKL, Gensler, MG2, NELSON, and Stantec top the rankings of the nation's largest retail sector architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2019 Giants 300 Report.