Cushman & Wakefield’s 2022 Americas Office Fit-Out Cost Guide found supply chain constraints and shifting consumer demands will continue to add pressure to costs, both in materials and labor.
Increases in construction and customer demand for durable and non-durable goods have driven supply chain disruptions over the past two years. COVID-19 outbreaks and labor shortages have also wreaked havoc through ports and on trucking, transportation, and distribution capacities. The supply chain stress indices for both China and the U.S. ended 2021 up over 40% from pre-pandemic levels.
For office construction and fit-outs, these stressors have created increased delays, greater uncertainty, and higher costs. There appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel, though,
as the supplier delivery index that measures manufacturer delays has been receding
since the middle of 2021, the report says.
The waning of the pandemic may add more fuel to cost pressures, however, as office tenants are targeting the first half of 2022 for employees to return to a more standard office attendance model. “As office space usage increases, we expect organizations will expand their piloting and testing of different types of layouts related to hybrid work,” the report says. “This is likely to increase the amount of fit-out and office space construction activity in the coming quarters, creating even more demand for materials and labor.”
Related Stories
Resiliency | Sep 30, 2022
Designing buildings for wildfire defensibility
Wold Architects and Engineers' Senior Planner Ryan Downs, AIA, talks about how to make structures and communities more fire-resistant.
| Sep 30, 2022
Lab-grown bricks offer potential low-carbon building material
A team of students at the University of Waterloo in Canada have developed a process to grow bricks using bacteria.
| Sep 27, 2022
New Buildings Institute released the Existing Building Decarbonization Code
New Buildings Institute (NBI) has released the Existing Building Decarbonization Code.
| Sep 22, 2022
Gainesville, Fla., ordinance requires Home Energy Score during rental inspections
The city of Gainesville, Florida was recently recognized by the U.S. Dept. of Energy for an adopted ordinance that requires rental housing to receive a Home Energy Score during rental inspections.
| Sep 19, 2022
New York City construction site inspections, enforcement found ‘inadequate’
A new report by the New York State Comptroller found that New York City construction site inspections and regulation enforcement need improvement.
| Sep 16, 2022
Fairfax County, Va., considers impactful code change to reduce flood risk
Fairfax County, Va., in the Washington, D.C., metro region is considering a major code change to reduce the risk from floods.
| Sep 13, 2022
California building codes now allow high-rise mass-timber buildings
California recently enacted new building codes that allow for high-rise mass-timber buildings to be constructed in the state.
| Sep 8, 2022
U.S. construction costs expected to rise 14% year over year by close of 2022
Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis (CBRE) is forecasting a 14.1% year-on-year increase in U.S. construction costs by the close of 2022.
| Aug 29, 2022
Montana becomes first U.S. state to approve 3D printing in construction
Montana is the first U.S. state to give broad regulatory approval for 3D printing in building construction.
| Aug 25, 2022
New York City’s congestion pricing aims to reduce traffic, cut carbon
Officials recently released an environmental assessment that analyzes seven different possible pricing schemes for New York City’s congestion pricing program.
