Seventy-nine percent of construction firms plan to expand their payrolls in 2019 but an almost equal percentage are worried about their ability to locate and hire qualified workers, according to survey results released today by the Associated General Contractors of America and Sage Construction and Real Estate. The findings are detailed in Contractors Remain Confident About Demand, Worried About Labor Supply: The 2019 Construction Hiring and Business Outlook Report.
During the last few years, the construction economy in North Carolina and South Carolina has been strong. As we head into 2019, trade wars, rising material prices, economic uncertainty, workforce shortages and numerous other factors could impact the industry in the Carolinas. The GroundBreak Carolinas staff is interested in your thoughts and feedback on the Carolinas' construction economy as we head into 2019.
Four newly registered electricians in Upstate South Carolina were lauded by their respective employers, course instructors and others at a private graduation ceremony last month. The celebration recognized the group’s successful completion of a rigorous four-year, S.C. Department of Labor registered electrical apprenticeship program.
GroundBreak Carolinas is pleased to share thoughts and insights from key leaders in the construction industry from North Carolina and South Carolina. Frank Elmore, Elmore Goldsmith, shares his thoughts on the construction industry:
What are your thoughts on the Carolinas’ Construction industry? The skilled worker
shortage will continue to be an issue. I believe the Carolinas construction volume and activity will remain about the same. The uncertainty of a trade war with China looms large for the Carolinas. The costs of steel and aluminum are highly impacted by tariffs. Not only does it impact capital investment, but could be a major inflationary factor resulting in the Federal Reserve adopting more aggressive policies such as increasing interest rates.
Chris Moore, CarolinaPower, shares his thoughts on the construction industry:
What are your thoughts on the Carolinas’ Construction industry? Work is abundant for 2019 and even extending into 2020. As we continue to work through backlog booked in 2018, our challenge, not unique to 2019, is to attract talent into
the construction industry. Currently, revenue seems only limited by the quantity of field staff we employ. This makes schedules ever more important. This also means that contractors must build teams early to ensure that staffing is available for each project.
Carolinas Associated General Contractors (Carolinas AGC) recently announced their 2019 Board of Directors. Ron Brown with State Utility Contractors, Inc. was announced as Chair, and Casey Schwager of Sloan Construction Company, Inc. was named Chair Elect. The construction association also announce 90 events in 2019.
The American Institute of Architects' (AIA) 2019 President William Bates, FAIA, issued the following statement regarding findings from the Federal Commission on School Safety's new report.
"While the AIA can only evaluate design-related aspects of the commission’s report, the Institute believes its inclusion of many design recommendations made by AIA members on behalf of the Institute will assist the United States in achieving safer schools.
Due to high demand, absorption will continue to be positive; however, due to new construction growth, the vacancy rate is expected to rise in the next few quarters. Charleston overall market rental rates are higher relative to the last quarter and are expected to rise as new office construction is completed. As the suburban office demand increases, so do the rental rates. Suburban rental rates rose to $22.56 per square foot this quarter. Read More
It’s difficult to tell what the top issues facing the construction industry will be year to year. There are always trends at the end of 2018 that are likely to continue into 2019, but things change year over year. Here are some of our predictions for the top issues facing the construction industry in 2019.
