Articles
Construction Worker Shortage Estimated at 501,000
The construction industry will need to attract an estimated 501,000 additional workers on top of the normal pace of hiring in 2024 to meet the demand for labor, according to a proprietary model developed by Associated Builders and Contractors Read More
Recession Scuttled by Strong Consumer Spending
"The recession never showed up in 2023. Consumers made sure of it,” reports the Wall Street Journal. “The U.S. economy grew 3.1% over the past year, the Commerce Department said Thursday. A resilient labor market supported strong consumer spending and brushed aside a feared downturn. A year ago economists saw a recession as very likely and projected anemic 0.2% growth for the year. Instead, last year’s gain was a sharp pickup from a comparable 0.7% advance in 2022. Read More
New Home Sales Bounce Back on Lower Mortgage Rates
Falling interest rates in the closing weeks of 2023 helped to bring buyers off the sidelines and provide a boost for new home sales. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in December increased 8.0% to a 664,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from an upwardly revised reading in November, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The pace of new home sales in December is up 4.4% from a year earlier. Read More
Dec. Housing Starts Declined 4.3% from Nov., But Rose 7.6% YOY
Privately‐owned housing starts in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,460,000, 4.3% below the revised November estimate of 1,525,000 but 7.6% above the December 2022 rate of 1,357,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Single‐family housing starts in December were at a rate of 1,027,000; this is 8.6% below the revised November figure of 1,124,000. The December rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 417,000. Read More
Freight Costs from China to Europe Rise Due to Red Sea Turmoil
Freight rates for containers from China to Europe are up thee times due to turmoil in the Red Sea, reports Container xChange. Read More
U.S. Ceramic Imports Declined 9.5% YOY in First 11 Months of 2023
In the first eleven months of 2023, total U.S. imports of ceramic tile were 170.8 million square meters, a decline of 9.5% from the same period in 2022 when imports were 188.7 million square meters, according to Grosser Consulting. Read More