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Don’t Forget! You Saw it in the
Adverti$$er
September 2022 #14278 Page #92
Move Over Status Quo, Modular Wants a Seat at the Table
T
he modular construction industry is not new. It’s not untried, untested, or untrue. It is a relatively small niche of the Tom Hardiman – Executive Director construction industry accounting for about 5.5% of all new Modular Building Institute building construction starts in 2021. And it is a somewhat fragmented industry in terms of the geographic locations of the modular factories. That has made it easier for the construction industry power brokers to dismiss and marginalize an entire industry for decades. Let’s look at some facts: •
The construction industry currently has 500,000 unfilled jobs.
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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 22% of the construction workforce is age 55 or older. Only 9% are age 24 or younger.
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The U.S. is currently facing a seven million shortfall in terms of affordable housing units.
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The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the U.S. a grade of C– on their recent 2021 infrastructure report card. And this was actually an improvement over the D+ grade received in 2017.
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ASCE reports a $2.6 trillion infrastructure investment gap over the next decade.
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As much as 30% of all building materials delivered to a typical construction site can end up as waste.
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McKinsey reported that productivity growth in construction has averaged only 1% a year over the past two decades, compared with growth of 2.8% for the total world economy and 3.6% in manufacturing.
With all due respect status quo, you’re letting us down. And it looks like things are going to get worse! It’s time for some new thinking and innovative solutions to these old problems. I’m certainly not suggesting that modular construction is the panacea for all our
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