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Cautious Optimism + Credible Concerns
Marcum’s 16th Annual Construction Survey reveals industry leaders’ views on year ahead Provided by Marcum LLP
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arcum LLP recently released findings from its 16th Annual Northeast Ohio Construction Survey, which collects feedback from key industry figures on a range of issues. By comparing these insights at the regional level with data from its recent fourth national construction survey (accessible at www.marcumllp.com), Marcum can gauge how Northeast Ohio compares with national trends. Marcum notes its 2023 annual survey comes at a time when everyone in the construction industry has considerable concerns about the effects of ongoing inflation and the rising interest rates deployed by the Fed to counter those rising prices. While those macroeconomic worries certainly played on the minds of area poll respondents, just as they did nationally, a good dose of optimism came through in the responses. The Marcum team attributes the eased optimism to some underlying strength driven by marquee projects such as the new Sherwin-Williams headquarters, new build and renovation projects for residential structures, an array of healthcare buildings and even a broad slate of non-profit and museum jobs. Add in federal and other infrastructure 50
projects, and the region should keep construction companies busy for the
funded projects juxtaposed with credible reasons to worry – or at least be cautious. These include the tough rate environment and its strong potential to affect the viability of jobs and a couple of all-too-familiar woes. Once again, respondents cited finding skilled labor as the biggest priority (and the inability to find it as the biggest threat) and said material issues – both cost and availability – were hampering their ability to complete jobs. Higher costs across the board are still hitting companies, with two-thirds of respondents saying their G&A (general and administrative) costs went up in the last year, roughly matching last year’s total, when that number really leapt. Respondents in Northeast Ohio mostly tracked quite closely to national
While macroeconomic worries [like ongoing inflation and rising interest rates] certainly played on the minds of area poll respondents, just as they did nationally, a good dose of optimism came through in the [construction survey] responses. next few years. Backlogs are still healthy, though there was a slight uptick in respondents expecting lower backlogs in the coming year. The result is a yin and yang, with credible reasons for feeling good in the form of solid pipelines of approved and
Properties | November 2023