Articles

U.S. economic output is set to expand by more than 7% annualized in the final three months of the year, up from about 2% in the previous quarter, according to early output estimates published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. That compares with expected annualized growth of about 2% in the eurozone and 4% in China for the fourth quarter, according to JPMorgan Chase. Read More

The 2021 preliminary results compiled by Prometeia based on sector data show Italian ceramic tile industry total sales volumes of around 458 million sqm (+12% on 2019), exports of around 367 million sqm (+13% on 2019 and +15% on 2020) and domestic sales of more than 91 million sqm (+9%), the latter returning to growth after a 20-year decline. The growth in exports involves virtually all the main international markets, with the strongest performances in the United States, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Read More

Transportation and logistics providers are seeking big boosts in prices for contracts for the coming year, signaling that the inflationary pressure driven by strong demand and tight capacity in freight markets is likely to persist. Read More

U.S. home values rose 1.2% from October and are now 19.3% higher than they were a year ago, a record high for any 12-month period this century. While monthly growth slowed nationally, it accelerated in 30 of the 50 largest metro areas. If this trend continues, the market cooling over the past few months may be short-lived, and this could be an unseasonably warm winter housing market. Read More

Single-family and multifamily housing production accelerated in November, due to strong demand for new construction. Overall housing starts increased 11.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.68 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. Read More

Total construction starts fell 14% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $867.8 billion, according to Dodge Construction Network. Nonbuilding and nonresidential building starts bore the brunt of the decline, falling 30% and 21%, respectively, after seeing sharp increases in October as three large projects broke ground. Residential starts gained a modest 3%. Without October’s large projects, total construction starts in November would have increased by 5%. Read More

Privately‐owned housing starts in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,679,000, 11.8% above the revised October estimate of 1,502,000 and 8.3% above the November 2020 rate of 1,551,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Single‐family housing starts in November were at a rate of 1,173,000; this is 11.3% above the revised October figure of 1,054,000. The November rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 491,000. Read More

“The period of elevated billing scores nationally, and across the major regions and construction sectors seems to be winding down for this cycle,” said AIA chief economist, Kermit Baker, Hon. AIA, PhD. “Ongoing external challenges like labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, spiking inflation, and prospects for rising interest rates will likely continue to slow the growth in firm billings in the coming months.” Read More

“The most pressing issue for the housing sector remains lack of inventory,” said NAHB chief economist Robert Dietz. “Building has increased but the industry faces constraints, namely cost/availability of materials, labor and lots. And while 2021 single-family starts are expected to end the year 24% higher than the pre-Covid 2019 level, we expect higher interest rates in 2022 will put a damper on housing affordability.” Read More

Data analyzed by NAHB shows the job openings rate in construction surged to 5.4% in October, with 410,000 open positions in the sector. This is significantly higher than the 253,000 count recorded a year ago. Read More