Balestrieri Environmental & Development proudly sponsored The Daily Reporter’s virtual Builder Breakfast, The Future of the Construction Supply Chain, on Wednesday, May 26.
Ken Simonson, Chief Economist the Associated General Contractors of America, and Brad Boycks, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Builders Association, shared their thoughts and data findings on the post-pandemic outlook for Wisconsin and U.S. construction. Below are Wisconsin-focused statistics against the U.S. average shared during the free webinar.
- State construction employment change for Wisconsin was at a loss of 1.4% from February 2020-April 2021. The U.S. was down an average of 2.6%.
- Wisconsin construction employment had a cumulative change down 1.3% from January 2020-April 2021, seasonally adjusted. The U.S. was down 2.1%.
- Wisconsin’s population changed -0.1% from July 2019-July 2020. The U.S. average was a gain of 0.35%.
- Nationally from April 2020-April 2021, the following products had a cumulative change in Producer Price Index’s, not seasonally adjusted.
- Lumber and plywood – 86%
- Steel mill products – 67%
- Copper and brass mill shapes – 49%
- Aluminum mill shapes – 20%
- Plastic construction products – 14%
- Gypsum – 12%
- ‘Bid price’ (new nonres building construction) – 2.3%
Simonson’s medium-term overall outlook suggested a shift in commercial construction focus. There will likely be less demand for retail, offices, higher education, lodging and travel-related projects, with a higher demand for remodeling, local distribution centers, data centers, restaurants, and K-12 schools.
Looking at the numbers overall, Wisconsin’s construction industry fared nearly twice as well compared to the rest of the United States. Balestrieri staff found great value from this webinar, and is looking forward to soon returning to in-person Daily Reporter events.
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