Articles
What Contractors Can Expect for 2025
The construction industry and manufacturers can look forward to a gradually improving operating environment in 2025, thanks to lower interest rates, moderating inflation and steady if unspectacular growth in the nation’s overall economic activity. “We look for real GDP growth of 2.5% in 2025,” said Bernard Yaros Jr., lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics (oxfordeconomics.com). (Gross domestic product, the total value of the nation’s goods and services, is the most commonly utilized measure of economic growth. “Real” GDP subtracts the effects of inflation.) Read More
Ceramic Imports Declined 4.1% in First 11 Months of 2024
In the months January to November 2024, total U.S. imports of ceramic tile were 163.7 million square meters, a decline of 4.1% from the same period in 2023 when imports were 170.7 million square meters, according to Grosser Consulting. Read More
Ceramic Imports Declined 4.1% in First 11 Months of 2024
In the months January to November 2024, total U.S. imports of ceramic tile were 163.7 million square meters, a decline of 4.1% from the same period in 2023 when imports were 170.7 million square meters, according to Grosser Consulting. Read More
Construction Hiring Slowed Significantly in November
The construction industry had just 276,000 job openings on the last day of November 2024, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. Read More
State of Tile in 2024
Tile closed out 2024 with minimal if any growth. “Sluggish” was the word Jamann Stepp, vice president of hard surface for Stanton, used to describe the market. While tile’s technology, style and performance, he said, were on point, economic conditions prevented significant growth. Read More
Immigration & the Labor Force
The construction industry will need to add about 500,000 new workers a year over the coming years to meet the demand for labor, according to projections from the trade association Associated Builders and Contractors. This will present a significant obstacle given that there are currently around 300,000 job openings nationally while it faces serious ongoing demographic challenges in finding additional workers. Read More
Builder Confidence Steady but Signs of Future Optimism in 2025
Builder sentiment held steady to end the year as high home prices and mortgage rates offset renewed hope about a better regulatory business climate in 2025. Along those lines, builders expressed increased optimism for higher sales expectations in the next months. Read More