Leopardo Companies, Inc. released its 2015 Construction Economics Report and Outlook, an essential guide to help business leaders, healthcare administrators, and government decision-makers understand the factors that impact construction costs.
This year’s report shows that different factors have opposing effects on construction costs. Low oil prices greatly reduce the cost of construction, and some material costs have come down over the past year.
But these factors reducing cost are more than offset by the strong increase in labor costs, brought on by a shortage of skilled workers as more than 25% of Illinois construction workers left the industry over the past five years. The overall effect is that construction costs are rising as development volume increases in Chicago and across Illinois.
“Organizations that are considering new construction and renovation projects need to understand the factors in the economy and in the construction industry that may affect the timing and cost of their projects,” said Leopardo President Rick Mattioda. “Our annual Construction Economics Report and Outlook offers a wealth of useful information to help people make informed decisions when building.”
To create the report, Leopardo analyzed economic and construction industry data from universally respected sources, and utilized that data as well as the experience of the firm’s principals to forecast the direction of construction costs over the next year.
The report provides current and recent costs relating to:
• Construction materials, including steel, wood, concrete, asphalt, aluminum, copper and paint
• Oil, electricity and other energy sources
• Union and general wage increases for construction workers and specialty contractors
• Average markup of contractor and subcontractor bids
Also included in the report is economic data such as the Producer Price Index, the Consumer Price Index, employment projections for Illinois, and construction spending by industry.
The report concludes with a snapshot of construction volume and trends by property type, including office, warehouse, hotel, multifamily residential, healthcare, educational, entertainment, and public-sector properties.
Related Stories
| Dec 2, 2011
Goody Clancy awarded Ohio State residential project
The project, which is focused on developing a vibrant on-campus community of learning for OSU undergraduates.
| Dec 1, 2011
Nauset Construction breaks ground on Massachusetts health care center
The $20 million project is scheduled to be completed by December 2012.
| Dec 1, 2011
Ground broken on first LEED Platinum designed school house built by volunteers
Phoenix public school receives the generous gift of a state-of-the-art building for student and community use.
| Dec 1, 2011
VLK Architects’ office receives LEED certification
The West 7th development, which houses the firm’s office, was designed to be LEED for Core & Shell, which gave VLK the head start on finishing out the area for LEED Silver Certification CI.
| Nov 29, 2011
First EPD awarded to exterior roof and wall products manufacturer
EPD is a standardized, internationally recognized tool for providing information on a product’s environmental impact.
| Nov 29, 2011
Suffolk Construction breaks ground on Boston residential tower
Millennium Place III is a $220 million, 256-unit development that will occupy a full city block in Boston’s Downtown Crossing.
| Nov 29, 2011
Report finds credit crunch accounts for 20% of nation’s stalled projects
Persistent financing crunch continues to plague design and construction sector.
| Nov 29, 2011
SB Architects completes Mission Hills Volcanic Mineral Springs and Spa in China
Mission Hills Volcanic Mineral Springs and Spa is home to the largest natural springs reserve in the region, and measures 950,000 sf.
| Nov 29, 2011
Turner Construction establishes partnership with Clark Builders
Partnership advances growth in the Canadian marketplace.
| Nov 29, 2011
AIA launches stalled projects database
To populate this database with both stalled projects and investors interested in financing them, the AIA in the last week initiated a communications campaign to solicit information about stalled projects around the country from its members and allied professionals.