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Articles by Richard M. Branch
AIA: Fed Likely to Hold Steady as Design Billings Soften
By RICHARD BRANCH, Chief Economist, American Institute of Architects The first five paragraphs below first appeared October 5 on LinkedIn... A few economic releases from last week are worth watching — especially for what they may mean for construction and architecture. Inflation: The Fed’s preferred inflation measure moved up 0.3% in August and was 3.4% higher than a year ago. Core PCE (excluding food and energy) increased 0.2% for the month and 3.0% over the past year.
CE Annual Construction Economic Forecast: 2024 and the Multiverse of Markets
Will interest rates keep going up? Which sector looks better—nonresidential or residential? What role might government policies and incentives play when it comes to greenlighting projects? And, of course, what’s the deal with AI? We explore the many possibilities, pitfalls and potentials for the year ahead. Project Financing Will Continue to Be Difficult By Anirban Basu What keeps me up at night regarding the U.S. construction industry? The answer is straightforward: more bank failures.
2024 and the Multiverse of Markets
Will interest rates keep going up? Which sector looks better—nonresidential or residential? What role might government policies and incentives play when it comes to greenlighting projects? And, of course, what’s the deal with AI? We explore the many possibilities, pitfalls and potentials for the year ahead. Project Financing Will Continue to Be Difficult By Anirban Basu What keeps me up at night regarding the U.S. construction industry? The answer is straightforward: more bank failures.
BuckAround: A Wisconsin Badgers Football Podcast: Episode 264
Colten Bartholomew from Badger Extra joins the podcast to share his insights into what he's seen from the Badgers through 5 practices. We kept him for almost an hour and a half and we could've done another hour with him. He was great!
A Very Special BuckAround on Apple Podcasts
The Badgers fired Paul Chryst. Chaos ensues! We decided to get the band back together for a special one off episode.
May Employment Numbers Positive, but Construction Takes a Hit
By Richard Branch, Chief Economist, Dodge Data & Analytics HAMILTON, NJ - JUNE 4, 2021 -- The U.S. economy added 589,000 new jobs in May, a solid improvement over the 278,000 jobs added in April, and the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 5.8%. Easing of state and local Covid-19 restrictions is helping the economy make steady improvement. Most new jobs came from leisure and hospitality (which added 292,000 jobs), education, and healthcare.
Federal infrastructure proposal could have ‘profound’ impact
Even a smaller package would have ‘immediate and positive' effect on construction starts, economist says If enacted in whole, President Biden’s nearly $2 trillion infrastructure and job growth initiative, the American Jobs Act would have a profound impact on the economy, and the construction sector in particular. The plan is expansive and its direct construction-related portion accounts for roughly half of the total.
Infrastructure Proposal Could Have Profound Impact on Construction Starts
By Richard Branch, Chief Economist, Dodge Data & Analytics On Wednesday, March 31, President Biden unveiled his nearly $2 trillion infrastructure and job growth initiative called the American Jobs Act. It is a program that, if enacted in whole, would have a profound impact on the economy, and the construction sector in particular. The plan is expansive and its direct construction-related portion accounts for roughly half of the total.
Infrastructure Provides Opportunity, But Not Without Challenges
By Richard Branch, Chief Economist, Dodge Data & Analytics BEDFORD, MA – FEBRUARY 24, 2021 – In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic raged on, pushing the U.S. economy into recession and constraining opportunity. Construction starts fell 9% to $778 billion but would have been down a total of 17% if single family construction had not provided a significant boost.
Labor Market Posts Weak Gain at Start of 2021
By Richard Branch, Chief Economist, Dodge Data & Analytics The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that the U.S. economy added just 49,000 jobs in the month of January following the December decline of 227,000. In January, the construction sector lost 3,000 jobs — the first time since April that the sector has shed positions. Residential building and heavy and civil engineering jobs rose in January, while nonresidential and specialty trade positions fell.
2020 Ends with Job Losses
By Richard Branch, Chief Economist Dodge Data & Analytics The U.S. economy lost 140,000 jobs in December as the economy downshifted in the face of rising COVID-19 cases across the country. The construction sector was one of the few bright spots during the month as it gained 51,000 jobs. Still, construction has added back less than 80% of the jobs lost in March and April. Other data from the construction sector suggests construction has not escaped the distress from COVID-19.
Employment Growth Slows in September
By Richard Branch, Chief Economist Total nonfarm payrolls rose by 661,000 in September as momentum in the labor market eased following gains of 1.8 million in July and 1.5 million in August. Public sector employment shrank by 216,000 largely due to cuts in local government education payrolls. Private sector employment increased by 877,000 led by 318,000 jobs in leisure/hospitality, 142,400 in retail, and 73,600 in transportation and warehousing.
Dodge Construction Outlook 2021
Location Virtual Conference DateNovember 19, 2020 Time1:00 PM Eastern 1:00-1:05 PM Eastern 1:05-1:35 PM Eastern After an eventful first half of 2020, what’s next for the US economy? In this session, we will explore current and future trends in employment, spending and investment. We’ll consider the political environment and identify the key drivers of construction activity in 2021 and beyond. 1:35-3:00 PM Eastern Recessions come and go, but this one was different.
Labor Market Continues to Heal
By Richard Branch, Chief Economist Dodge Data & Analytics The U.S. economy added back 4.8 million jobs in June, well above expectations of 3.0 million. June’s addition follows a gain of 2.7 million in May (revised up from 2.5 million). Private sector employment improved by 4.8 million while the government sector added just 33,000 new positions. The unemployment rate fell to 11.1% from 13.3% in May.
First Quarter GDP - It Will Only Get Worse from Here
By Richard Branch, Chief Economist Dodge Data & Analytics BEDFORD, MA - April 30, 2020 - The much anticipated advance release of first-quarter GDP came in at an annualized -4.8%, the largest quarterly decline since the fourth quarter of 2008. This was a little worse than Dodge’s expectation for a 2.5% decline. Weakness was widespread. Consumer spending dropped 7.6% on an annualized basis, marking the largest quarterly percentage drop since the second quarter of 1980.
The Tipping Point: 2020 Economic Outlook
By Richard Branch Chief Economist, Dodge Data & Analytics Posted February 03, 2020 The U.S. economy and construction market have reached a tipping point. After a solid 10-year economic expansion and moderately healthy recovery in construction, total construction starts are now tipping over the edge into decline. According to Dodge Data & Analytics, total starts reached a peak at $815 billion in 2018 and will inch down 1% to $809 billion in 2019.
2020 State of the Industry
The last decade of growth in construction is reaching a turning point. How much will it change? By Paul Deffenbaugh Editorial Director Posted February 03, 2020 For the last 10 years, the construction industry has seen a remarkable line of expansion, with every year seeming to top the previous year. Only the shortage of skilled labor has taken any of the steam off the growth. But going into the next decade, uncertainty is creeping into the market, and not just on the economics side.
Labor Market Ends Year on a Strong Note
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What Effect will Hurricane Florence have on Construction Project Starts?
In mid-September, Hurricane Florence made landfall in the U.S. causing widespread damage and numerous deaths. At its peak, Florence reached Category 4 status before quickly easing in intensity to a Category 1 storm when it hit just south of Wrightsville Beach, NC. The intense rainfall associated with this storm, however, made the disaster particularly difficult.
2017 A Solid Year for Canadian Building Permits
BEDFORD, MA - February 21, 2018 - According to Statistics Canada, building permits grew 10% in 2017 to $94.9 billion CAD. When converted to U.S. dollars, the value of building permits rose 12% to $73.2 billion as the value of the Canadian dollar generally strengthened throughout the year. The improvement of the loonie against the greenback was not surprising given the progress in the Canadian economy during 2017.
Hurricane Irma’s wide path to impact outlook for Florida construction
By Richard Branch, senior economist, Dodge Data & Analytics BEDFORD, MA — The one-two punch of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have wreaked havoc across the Gulf Coast over the past month. Once all the damage is tallied, Harvey is likely to be the costliest storm to impact the U.S. Irma’s path through the Keys, then up the west coast of Florida, took it away from a direct hit to Miami.
Hurricane Irma’s Wide Path to Impact Outlook for Florida Construction
BEDFORD, MA - September 18, 2017 - The one-two punch of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have wreaked havoc across the Gulf Coast over the past month. Once all the damage is tallied, Harvey is likely to be the costliest storm to impact the U.S. Irma’s path through the Keys, then up the west coast of Florida, took it away from a direct hit to Miami. And while the storm itself was as wide as the entire state, the turn to the west likely lowered the severity of damage in terms of total dollars.
Update on the Construction Effects of Hurricane Harvey
BEDFORD, MA – AUGUST 30, 2017 - As of this writing, the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey (and the deluge of rain that followed) has been estimated at $50-75 billion. This would make Harvey one of the costliest storms ever to hit the U.S., exceeded only by Katrina’s $108 billion damage and Sandy’s $75 billion. Recent estimates suggest that the cost of Harvey could even exceed that of Sandy, making it the second most costly natural disaster of the past 30 years.
Turning GDPR into an opportunity
The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is set to begin enforcement in 18 months. This legislation strengthens data protection protocols to give European Union (EU) residents more control over their personal information, including the famous ‘right to be forgotten’. GDPR’s far-reaching scope, extending to any organisation or resident dealing with the data of EU residents, means that its effects will be felt across multiple continents.
Richard M. Branch - The Herald Palladium : Obituaries
Posted: Thursday, January 14, 2016 5:00 am Richard M. Branch Richard M. Branch Richard M. Branch, 85, of Benton Harbor died Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016, at the home of his daughter. An online service is needed to view this article in its entirety. You need an online service to view this article in its entirety. Login Or, use your linked account: Choose an online service. Current print subscribers Need an account? Create one now.
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