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    Analysis

    June 1, 2021

    AGC: April Nonresidential Construction Drops to a Two-Year Low

    Written by David Schollaert

    Nonresidential construction spending hit a two-year low in April, down for a fifth consecutive month due to supply-chain woes and soaring costs, according to the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). Extended delivery and production times as well as fast-rising materials prices caused demand to wane across several public and private project categories.

    “Both public and private nonresidential spending overall continued to shrink in April, despite a pickup in a few spending categories from March,” said Ken Simonson, AGC’s chief economist. “Ever-growing delays and uncertainty regarding backlogs and delivery times for key materials, as well as shortages and record prices, are likely to make even more project owners hesitant to commit to new work.”

    David Schollaert

    David Schollaert is deputy editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. He can be contacted at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

    Read more from David Schollaert

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