The Canadian economy continues to outperform its U.S. counterpart. This year, Canada's real GDP is expected to increase 2.1%, compared to a 1.6% increase in the U.S. Next year, the Canadian economy is expected to grow 2.4% versus a 2.2% gain in the U.S., according to McGraw-Hill Construction Analytic's 2012 outlook for the Canadian construction market.From a provincial standpoint, the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan will lead the country in growth, fueled by a booming resource sector. The larger provinces of Ontario and Quebec will be restrained by their weak housing markets.Permits for residential and non-residential construction, which

The Canadian economy managed to weather the Great Recession in rather good form compared to the U.S. economy. In 2009, Canada’s real GDP dropped 2.5%, compared to a 2.6% decline in the U.S. GDP. However, total employment only fell by 1.6% in Canada compared to a 4.2% drop in the U.S. Related Links: A Stalled Recovery Ready To Rev Up As the recovery took hold in late 2009 and early 2010, Canada managed to add back almost two-thirds of the jobs lost during the recession. As a result, the Canadian housing market was able to remain fairly solid. After falling

Even though the �Great Recession� of 2008-09 is now behind us, McGraw-Hill Construction�s new report, �2010 Special Sector Study: Education Construction in Hard Times,� reveals that it will continue to haunt the halls of schools and colleges across the country for some time to come. The construction of publicly-funded schools and colleges will continue to be weighed down by mushrooming state and local budget deficits, while the construction of privately-funded schools and colleges will suffer from a slump in alumni donations and the tumultuous movement of the stock market (where endowments are typically invested). Exacerbating this situation, the ongoing crisis

In light of Canada’s cooling construction market, materials costs have stabilized after years of price spikes, but they are stabilizing at high levels. Source: Statistic Canada. 2002=100 Material Cost Indices - Canada Related Links: Forecast: Inflation Stalls As Recession Undercuts Nonresidential Building Markets Markets: Major Firms Are Pessimistic About A Fast Industry Recovery International: Global Recession Pushes Down Inflation China: The New Driver Of International Costs Has Troubles Of Its Own Thailand: Construction Costs Bounce Up As The Recession Bottoms Out Complete 4th Quarterly Cost Report with Data and Analysis Costs generally are remaining at historically high levels, says Scott

In its newest report, Transportation Infrastructure: Gearing Up for Change, McGraw-Hill Construction’s Research and Analytics takes a look at the current state of the nation’s transportation infrastructure and its prospects for the future—particularly given the recent investment made with the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Unfortunately, much more needs to be done to build and maintain the transportation infrastructure that is so critical to national competitiveness and American way of life, the report states. However, the substantial allocation for transportation in the ARRA, combined with the rapid obligation of ARRA transportation funding, will yield a strong market in the