Nonresidential Construction Continues Sluggish Growth, According to Marcum Commercial Construction Index
New York City, NY – Marcum LLP, a top national accounting and advisory firm, today released its Marcum Commercial Construction Index for the third quarter of 2013. The index reveals sluggish growth in both private and public nonresidential construction spending during the period, with gains of less than one percent registered in both major segments.
Increased spending was observed in eight of the 16 nonresidential construction subsectors during August, however, the most recent month for which data are available. These gains were driven to a meaningful degree by the impacts of consumer spending on the size and composition of the U.S. economy. Gains were also registered on a year-over-year basis in 16 of the 20 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, further indication of broad economic recovery and its impact on a variety of construction markets.
“Mimicking the national economy, the nonresidential construction segment is associated with both private sector progress and public sector retrenchment,” said Anirban Basu, Marcum’s Chief Construction Economist and Chairman of Sage Policy Group. “Given lingering fiscal uncertainty emanating from the federal government as well as from many states, public construction is unlikely to rally any time soon. Private construction, however, is positioned to continue to recover in conjunction with a national economy now its fifth year of expansion – an economy that appears poised to accelerate in 2014.”
“I’m pleased to report that we are seeing, around the country, job backlogs on the increase,” said Joseph Natarelli, Marcum’s National Construction Industry Group leader. “While the margin gains aren’t ticking up in parallel just yet, we expect profitability to catch up as those backlogs become full.”
Marcum LLP’s Construction Services Group provides strategic and timely accounting, audit, and consulting and taxation services to construction clients ranging from start-ups to multi-billion-dollar enterprises. The firm’s technical experts serve on many industry boards and committees and regularly contribute to construction conferences and publications.
About Marcum LLP
Marcum LLP is a top-ranked national accounting and advisory firm dedicated to helping entrepreneurial, middle-market companies and high net worth individuals achieve their goals. Marcum’s industry-focused practices offer deep insight and specialized services to privately held and publicly registered companies, and nonprofit and social sector organizations. The Firm also provides a full complement of technology, wealth management, and executive search and staffing services. Headquartered in New York City, Marcum has offices in major business markets across the U.S. and select international locations. #AskMarcum.
