A dip in public works combined with a substantial decrease in utility work, weak industrial markets and slower-than-anticipated growth in residential construction all put a damper on general construction growth in 2017. The consensus among economic forecasts analyzed by ENR indicates a very modest rebound in growth in 2018.
Total construction starts soared 13% in 2015, but the growth rate declined to 5% in 2016, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. That rate is estimated to slow to 4% this year and continue to fall to 3%, to $765.2 billion, in 2018, according to Robert Murray, Dodge’s chief economist.
