CE Economic Forecast: ‘The National Economy Is Weakening’
While the economy seems to have avoided a recession, Anirban Basu isn’t convinced that the worst is behind us.
Speaking during “Construction Executive’s 2023 Q3 Economic Update and Forecast” webinar on Sept. 27, Basu—chief economist for Associated Builders and Contractors—acknowledged that “the economy has been much stronger than I would have anticipated.” But while job growth, low unemployment and increased spending on construction are positive signs, Basu remains wary of the longer-term outlook, pointing to red flags such as skyrocketing credit-card debt and an ABC Construction Confidence Index that has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels.
“My view,” Basu told his webinar audience, “is the national economy is weakening, increasingly under pressure from higher interest rates, strikes, worker shortages and loss of production; borrowing costs are higher; and excess inflation persists.” Bottom line, he said: “Things will get worse before they get better.”
Watch the full webinar at webinars.constructionexec.com/webinars.
U.N. Solution for Sustainable Building Materials
A new report from the United Nations Environmental Programme addresses construction’s staggering carbon footprint—the industry is responsible for nearly 40% of global emissions—by focusing on its literal building blocks. Prepared in collaboration with the Yale Center for Ecosystems + Architecture, “Building Materials and the Climate: Constructing a New Future” offers a three-pronged solution for decarbonizing the production and use of construction materials. From the report:
Avoid the extraction and production of raw materials by galvanizing a circular economy, which requires building with less materials through better data-driven design, while reusing buildings and recycled materials wherever feasible.
Shift to regenerative material practices wherever possible by using ethically produced, low-carbon, earth- and bio-based building materials (such as sustainably sourced bricks, timber, bamboo, agricultural and forest detritus) whenever possible.
Improve methods to radically decarbonize conventional materials such as concrete, steel and aluminum, and only use these nonrenewable, carbon-intensive, extractive materials when absolutely necessary.
Download the full report at unep.org/publications-data.
