Construction Output in Second Quarter of 2020 Significantly Slows Due to COVID-19 Pandemic

According to The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), Chief Economist Anirban Baus, the “ABC’s Construction Confidence Index indicated that a majority of contractors suffered some form of interruption to their activities during the second quarter of 2020, whether due to a lack of available inputs as global supply chains buckled, project postponements or cancellations, jobsite workforce issues or state and local government mandates.” Basu went onto say, “While there was relatively greater damage done to industries such as retail and hospitality during the second quarter, construction activity also fell dramatically. A number of key construction segments like office, lodging and commercial were hit especially hard by the pandemic.” Basu concludes that, “With case counts spiking in parts of the nation, the U.S. economy has yet to begin a rapid economic recovery. While May and June represented periods of robust economic bounce back in terms of employment, retail sales, building permits and manufacturing activity, recovery will become more erratic over the next several months. That will further delay construction’s eventual rebound, including in segments that are likely to be significant contributors to construction spending growth in the future, such as data centers, fulfillment centers, healthcare and manufacturing.”