At the Associated Builders and Contractors’ (ABC) Q2 Construction Economic Update and Forecast webinar, ABC chief economist Anirban Basu affirmed that the construction industry is on the path to normalcy. Enthusiastically, he claimed that high raw material prices will eventually go down, going further to predict that the second half of 2021 will see a boost in economic growth, which would drive up the demand for construction. 

As noted in this Construction Dive piece, a surprising group of Midwest cities, including Minneapolis, Detroit, St. Louis, and Chicago, are the top four geographic areas of employment from February 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Employment Statistics survey for May 2021. 

This construction industry rebound has also been noted by the Professional Services Management Journal (PSMJ) Resources’ Quarterly Market Survey, which saw a historic increase of overall proposal activity for AEC firms in Q2 of this year.