SMU Community Chat

SMU Community Chat: April 17 with AGC chief economist Ken Simonson

Written by Michael Cowden

April 12, 2024

Ken Simonson, chief economist for The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), will be the featured speaker on the next SMU Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, April 17, at 11 a.m. ET.

The live webinar is free. A recording will be available free to SMU members. You can register here.

Simonson will discuss the outlook for various construction project types and geographic markets. He will review the latest data on construction employment nationally and by state. Simonson will also talk about hiring and wage trends, materials cost and availability issues, and changes in construction spending by category.

Recall that AGC is the leading association for the construction industry, with more than 27,000 member firms across a range of markets. Simonson has been chief economist at AGC since 2001.

As always, we’ll keep it to about 45 minutes. You can drop in, learn something – and then get on with your day. And we’ll take your questions too. So remember to think of some good ones for the Q&A.

Editor’s note: If you’d like to see past Community Chat webinars, you can find those here.

Michael Cowden

Michael Cowden is managing editor for Steel Market Update. Cowden has covered the steel industry since 2007. He has since 2014 specialized in flat-rolled steel but has previously reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube as well as aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago - where he was involved in launching AMM's daily hot-rolled coil index, the Associated Press in Pittsburgh, and the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. He has also worked as a copy editor and in marketing at the University of Chicago Press. Cowden has a BA in English from the University of Chicago and an MSJ journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Contact him at michael@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7872.

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