Construction spending for 2008 was down a little
more than 5 percent from 2007. This is according to statistics recently
released from the U.S. Commerce Department. This shouldn’t come as a surprise.
What also shouldn’t come as a surprise is the drop in
residential construction for 2008. Residential construction fell by more than
27 percent.
On the other hand, non-residential construction
was up by 15 percent over last year. Also, according to the Washington Business
Journal, this is the third straight year that non-residential construction has
seen double-digit gains.
So how is the non-residential
market still going strong, while the residential market continues to tumble?
I’m sure that part of it has to do with the fact that many non-residential
projects were in the pipeline before the economy started to tank. Some of these
projects may also be taxpayer funded and the money was already set aside.
But it seems that there has to be more to it.
Non-residential construction has been growing for the past three years, so the
construction industry must be doing something right. Anyone like to take a
guess on how this is possible? Perhaps if you are a sheet metal contractor who
does mostly commercial and institutional work, you could tell me how business
is going. Just leave a comment on the blog or send me an e-mail, at siegelj@bnpmedia.com.