Here you will find US Articles relating the Market Insights Community.
The US economy lost 6,929,000 jobs from December 2007 to August 2009. Monthly job losses have slowed to about 200,000/month but losses will continue into the winter with up to 500,000 more jobs lost. The unemployment rate will rise from 9.7% in August 2009 to slightly over 10% in summer 2010, says Reed Construction Data chief economist Jim Haughey.
The accompanying table shows 20 of the largest upcoming water treatment and manufacturing construction projects in the U.S.. They are all in the planning stage and are mainly new projects, but may also involve additions and/or alterations.
Shopping centers, hotels, office buildings, medical buildings, educational buildings, libraries and museums, sports and entertainment complexes, industrial projects and government buildings will all be covered on a rotating basis.
There are several reasons for highlighting upcoming large projects. Such jobs have often received a fair amount of media coverage. Therefore, people in the industry are on the lookout for when job-site work actually gets underway. And, as showcase projects, they highlight geographically where major construction projects are proceeding.
Finally, total construction activity is comprised of many small- and medium-sized projects and a limited number of very large developments. But the largest projects, simply by their nature, can dramatically affect total dollar volumes. In other words, the timing and size of these projects have an exaggerated influence on market forecasts.
Last month HSBC reported, based on the most recent China Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), that the Chinese manufacturing sector continued to expand in September.
The foreign trade positions of the U.S. and Canada offer good gauges of how the two economies are doing. Based on the latest tallies, neither economy is anywhere close to being normal.
Construction materials prices fell 7.5% from September 2008 to August 2009. The decline is now over with the price index approximately steady for the last three months. Little change is expected in the next six months although a slight upward trend is likely. Both the overall economy and the construction market are operating well below potential, says Reed Construction Data chief economist Jim Haughey.
The turnabout to growth in the overall economy last summer started changes in the economic environment that will lead to resumed growth in construction activity during the winter quarter. Single family housing led the recovery, as it often does, with an initial burst of growth late in the spring that was a major contributor to the growth in GDP last summer, says Reed Construction Data chief economist Jim Haughey.
Canada’s inflation rate, or more accurately its deflation rate, has been about the same for the past three months. In September, as just reported by Statistics Canada, the year-over-year all-items Consumer Price Index (CPI) change was -0.9%. It had been -0.8% in August and -0.9% in July. Prior to that, it was only slightly negative in June at -0.3% and still positive in May at +0.1%. The Canadian (-0.9%) and U.S. (-1.3%) inflation rates are almost matching again.
GDP growth is expected to be reported in the 3% range for the summer 2009 quarter and nearly that high for the current quarter. Then, GDP growth is forecast to slip to the 2% range in the first half of 2010 after the initial boost from non-sustainable factors is exhausted, says Reed Construction Data chief economist Jim Haughey.
The Dow Jones industrial average climbed above 10,000 for the first time in a year yesterday, Oct. 14. What is causing the mood of investors to become more optimistic? It’s the trickle of good news on the economy that is starting to flow through the pipeline. The hope is that this will turn into a steady stream and eventually a river, but that is getting a little ahead of ourselves.
