5 Places to Uncover Construction Data

If you’re into construction like I am then you’re always a little afraid.  It’s a cyclical business that we’re taught runs on a 7-10 year cycle. Despite my shitty math skills, I’m pretty sure we’re at least in that range with the current boom. So wether you’re a bit paranoid like me or just interested in data and construction, here are a few of the places to check out if you want to keep an eye on the state of construction.

1) FRED Economic Data –  This is hands down the best place for construction data.  You can get Massachusetts-specific and sector-specific data on volume of construction, GDP, wages, and hours worked, and more.  I have their app and it’s pretty good, I know, I need to get a life. 

So what type of info do I find to be of particular interest? 

 

all employees const
When looking at all employees in all types of construction across Massachusetts we see confirmation that indeed we are well above our previous peak/”boom”.  Approximately 11%
con of bldgs mass
When looking at all employees in the construction of buildings across the entire state we see that we are only now arriving at our past peak, if we ever do reach it. I intentionally chose some charts as seasonally adjusted and others not seasonally adjusted just to show that the data can be displayed in multiple formats.  

 

con of Bldgs Boston
When looking at all employees in the construction of buildings in the “Boston-Cambridge-Quincy” group you’ll see we surpassed the prior peak in 2016/2017 and appear to be staying there for 2018.

There’s certainly plenty of data to look at around wages, hours worked, and GDP.  I find this Value of Construction Put in Place broken down by sector to be interesting as well.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

2) The Beige Book is a monthly report put out by the Federal Reserve that occasionally has some valuable information for the construction industry.  You would look at the report’s Boston District, which covers New England, and there are sections for commercial and residential real estate. I find it most useful for leasing and rent numbers which show potential movement that would produce TI work. The most recent report, “Commercial Real Estate” starts on page A-2.

boston skyline
Photo by Anthony DELANOIX on Unsplash

3) The AIA has the  Architectural Billings Index (ABI), which can be forward looking for construction given that it tracks billings of architecture firms, design contracts signed, and new project inquiries.  

4) The ABC of America has the  Construction Confidence Index (CCI), a six-month report that tracks sentiment of its members.  In general I don’t find sentiment indicators very valuable because the way people feel can often be wrong.  In fairness I’m sure they’re looking at their book of business/pipeline, which does have value, but as we know it’s often too late by the time people figure out there’s a problem.  However, I think it definitely has value in verifying the current state of the industry.

5) Last, there are a couple of websites that post some permitting data, but it’s usually a painstaking process to dig around.  At this point if you find this stuff that interesting then seek help.

https://publicrecords.onlinesearches.com/Massachusetts-Permits-and-Inspections.htm

City of Newton Building Permit reports

 

What places am I missing?  Let me know joe@massconstruction.org

Author: Joe Kelly

Website builder and podcaster for people who dig construction 🔨 🚧

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.