AGC Poll Looks Ahead to 2009
December 16, 2008 – With the struggling economy and layoffs taking place throughout the industry, everyone is wondering when the downturn will make an upward swing. A recent survey in Associated General Contractors’ SmartBrief special report gave a glimpse into what contractors in the industry predict for 2009 and beyond.
Those surveyed responded that the industry’s biggest challenge in the next year will be credit availability. An overwhelming 83 percent thought the credit crunch was the toughest challenge to be faced, with labor shortages, fuel prices and global warming all coming it at 8 percent of the vote or less.
More than 40 percent of respondents said that sustainable building practices will be big next year. A quarter of those surveyed said sustainable issues would be moderate, 19 percent said it would be the same as 2008, and 12 percent said it would be minimal.
When asked when the industry will see the next construction boom, 41 percent said three to five years, while 36 percent thought it was one to two years down the road. A pessimistic 13 percent said the next boom would happen in more than five years, while 9 percent thought a boom was less than one year away.
The AGC is based in
