Monthly update for the construction industry October 2022

Nonresidential construction input prices dipped for a second consecutive month in August, providing more evidence that construction material costs peaked in June and supporting newfound optimism in the sector. Prices for steel mill products, crude petroleum and softwood lumber were down 5.7%, 5.3% and 3.1%, respectively, for the month, while the cost for all nonresidential supplies moderated 1.4%.

The U.S. Dept. of Transportation awarded $1.5 billion for 26 freight and highway infrastructure projects in the latest round of its seven-year old Infrastructure for Rebuilding America grants program. Funding for the INFRA grants comes from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The IIJA increased INFRA funding by more than 50% from the earlier level. The INFRA program was created in the 2015 Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act. In all, the IIJA is providing $8 billion for INFRA over five years.

German construction industry association Bauindustrie has welcomed federal government support to increase the number of construction workers. The body estimates the sector will be short of 100,000 workers by 2030.

Germany’s construction sector has recruited around 460,000 people since the low point in employment in 2009, but by 2030 there will be a shortage of over 100,000, mainly because of the ageing workforce.

China Construction Bank Corp, one of the country’s four largest state-owned lenders, will set up a 30-billion-yuan ($4.2 billion) fund to buy properties from developers. The move comes even as policymakers take steps to contain a real estate crisis that is weighing on the economy. Link. The biggest fall in Chinese cement production in at least two decades has dragged global output of the construction material into decline, demonstrating how a crisis in the country’s vast property sector is hitting other industries that rely on it for growth. Global cement output fell 8 per cent year on year to 1.9bn tonnes in the first six months of 2022. The global drop was caused by a 15 per cent fall to 977mn tonnes in the volume of cement produced in China.

Several countries announced rail investments: Bangladesh has signed two contracts with India for building a new broad-gauge line between Khulna- Darsana and transforming a metre gauge line into a dual-gauge line between Parbatipur and Kaunia.

A $3bn contract has been signed by the state rail operators of Oman and the UAE for the construction of a 300km rail line between the two countries.

Plans for a high-speed rail connection between the Portuguese capital Lisbon and the city of Porto have been unveiled. Work will start on the first phase of the project in 2024, with an investment of €2.95 billion, €1 billion of which will come from European Union funds.

Following the launch of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 in 2016, the Kingdom is on its way to becoming the world’s biggest construction site with a total investment of $1.1 trillion in infrastructure and real estate projects. Planned construction projects in the Kingdom being over 555,000 residential units, over 275,000 hotel keys, over 4.3 million square meters of retail space, and over 6.1 million square meters of office space.

San Francisco-based construction tech startup Toric raised $22 million in funding and inked a partnership with one of the largest contech firms in the market. The investment round featured $16 million in equity led by San Francisco-based contech stalwart Autodesk, along with participation from existing investors Storm Ventures, Leaders Fund and Real Ventures. An additional $6 million was acquired through debt financing.

London-based Disperse has raised $16 million in new funding. Disperse is an AI-driven construction platform that can track job-site progress and issue warnings about potential rework using photographs. The company’s funding round was led by London-based venture capital firm 2150.

Peri, a company best known as a manufacturer of scaffolding and formwork products, has completed what is claimed to be Europe’s first 3D-printed office building. Designed by German practice Mense- Korte Architects, the 125 m2 building is an extension to contractor Strabag’s office in the Austrian town of Hausleiten. It is Austria’s first 3D-printed building of any kind.

The latest Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI) report in the UK reveals that the quantity of goods sold by builders’ merchants in July was down 12.8% year-on-year, but with prices up 15% since July 2021, the value of sales was marginally up by 0.2%. Month-on-month, total merchant sales were down 2.6% by value in July compared with June 2022. Volumes were down 5.2%. Prices rose in July and were 2.7% higher than in June. However, July had one more trading day than June, so likefor-like sales were 7.3% lower.

Several European construction players have announced sustainability targets. Construction and technology group Strabag has announced that it will become climate neutral along its entire value chain by 2040.

Construction and concessions giant Vinci has announced a commitment to reduce its carbon footprint by 40% within the next eight years.

Global design, engineering, and environmental consultancy Ramboll estimates that by 2030, the company will have reduced upfront embodied CO2 emissions from its new building projects globally by 2.5 million tonnes per year compared to 2021.

Pasadena, California-based engineering firm Tetra Tech has trumped engineering and design giant WSP Global’s offer for environmental consulting firm RPS Group. With Tetra Tech’s offer of $691 million beating WSP’s $641 million offer by about 7.8%, the RPS board of directors unanimously approved the offer. The firm would be Tetra Tech’s largest acquisition to date.

Kier Reported improved results for the year to June 2022, a period of strong work winning had seen the forward order book swell 27% to £9.8bn,  reflecting a large number of contract wins across all divisions. The construction business average order size stands at £13m, reducing exposure with regular repricing of contracts. But Kier’s reported pre-tax profit continued to be impacted by restructuring and other costs, which ran to £56m over the year.