Sluggish U.S. Construction Industry Shows No Signs of Momentum

PHOENIX, Ariz. — Rider Levett Bucknall reports that the mainland U.S. construction industry continued its slow growth forward in the last quarter, with no signs of gaining momentum. The report also states that activity for construction put-in-place increased just 1.7 percent above June 2014 figures while the unemployment rate for construction laborers increased during the same period, falling to 7.5 percent in April 2015. The firm reported its findings in its newly released Second Quarter 2015 USA Construction Cost Report.

Rider Levett Bucknall tracks construction costs in 12 major U.S. cities. From Jan. 1 through April 1, the national average increase in construction cost was approximately 1.2 percent. Chicago, Illinois and Honolulu, Hawaii experienced the greatest increases showing inflation of 1.6 percent and 3.0 percent respectively. Several other North American locations experienced inflation between 1.0 percent and 1.3 percent with Boston, Massachusetts; Los Angeles, California; New York, New York and Phoenix, Arizona all experiencing less than 1.0 percent change in the quarter.