Construction Market Statistics

Aug. 1, 2009
Percentage cap California Assembly Bill 560 would institute, if passed unaltered, for the state's net metering policy
10%

Percentage cap California Assembly Bill 560 would institute, if passed unaltered, for the state's net metering policy. Currently, if 2.5% of peak electricity demand is supplied by solar power customers, the state's utilities would become exempt from forging new net metering obligations. With 123MW of systems installed in its service area, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), San Francisco, is expected to reach the 2.5% cap next year.

Source: Greentech Media

1. According to a new industry report, energy efficiency policies in the Southeast United States can help reduce electricity use by more than 10% over the next six years, saving the same amount of power generated by more than 30 coal-fired power plants. The chart above shows near-term energy efficiency potential in the Southeast compared to Department of Energy projections for electricity consumption through 2015.

Source:World Resources Institute (WRI), Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA), and Southface

2. 17.4% - As of early July, the unemployment rate for construction (not seasonally adjusted), which is up from 8.2% last year. Construction job losses totaled 79,000 (-1.3%) in June, seasonally adjusted, and 992,000 (-14%) over 12 months. All construction job categories had severe monthly and 12-month losses, including: residential building (-10% and -16%); residential specialty trade contractors (-1.4% and -16%); nonresidential building (-1.6% and -11%); nonresidential specialty trades (-0.9% and -13%); and heavy and civil engineering (-1.8% and -11%).

Source: Associated General Contractors of America

3. 68.2 - Hitting its highest level in four years, NEMA’s Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for future North American business conditions rose in June for a fourth month in a row, increasing nearly 3 points to 68.2, the highest level since August 2005. This indicates a growing proportion of industry executives see an improvement of at least some degree in the business environment within the next six months from today’s depressed levels. This figure is in contrast to the EBCI for current North American conditions, which slid 6.6 points to 41.3.

Source: NEMA

4. Market Segment Consensus Growth Forecasts

Commercial/Industrial

2009

2010

Retail

-28.0%

-12.6%

Hotels

-25.8%

-16.8%

Office buildings

-21.5%

-17.3%

Industrial facilities

-0.8%

-28.4%

Institutional

Amusement / recreation

-20.8%

-8.1%

Religious

-10.7%

-6.9%

Education

-8.2%

-0.7%

Health care facilities

-1.5%

-0.8%

Public safety

1.7%

-0.7%

Feeling the effects of the struggling overall U.S. economy, nonresidential construction spending is expected to decrease by 16% in 2009 and another 12% in 2010 (in inflation-adjusted terms). Commercial projects are projected to see the most significant decrease in activity. In contrast, most institutional building categories are expected to see much more modest declines.

Source: “Consensus Construction Forecast,” American Institute of Architects

5. -0.4% - Percentage decline in industrial production in June, after having fallen 1.2% in May. For the second quarter as a whole, output fell at an annual rate of 11.6%, a more moderate contraction than the 19.1% drop in the first quarter.

Source: Federal Reserve

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