Mason Contractors: Economy Improving Slowly, Shows FMI Q3-2014 Outlook

Words: Dan Kamys

Mason Contractors: Economy Improving Slowly, Shows FMI Q3-2014 Outlook

FMI, a provider of management consulting and investment banking to the engineering and construction industry, released its Q3-2014 Construction Outlook. The forecast calls for solid, slow growth.

Contributing factors include relatively low energy prices, low inflation, unemployment holding around 6.2 percent and GDP slowly growing. Additionally, consumer confidence is rising steadily, building permits and housing starts bounced back in July, and banks are starting to lend again, that is, if the applicant has good credit and cash flow.

Therefore, sectors such as power, conservation and development, as well as transportation will continue to see growth ahead of GDP. However, water supply, sewage and waste disposal, and highway and street construction will be weaker as government spending is not expected to pick up significantly in the near term. Additional select market predictions include:

  • Residential –Multifamily construction is still expected to grow at a healthy pace of 13 percent in 2015 after reaching a near-record pace in 2014. The inventory for new homes increased to six months in July, showing some weakness in sales, but housing starts in July were 21.7 percent above July 2013 levels.
  • Office – Dropping unemployment rates and rising GDP have provided a lift in the office forecast now expected to reach 8 percent growth in 2014 and grow an additional 7 percent in 2015. Large metropolitan areas like New York City will benefit the most, as vacancy rates drop to 10.6 percent compared with national vacancy rates hovering around the 16 to 17 percent range.
  • Manufacturing – Improvements in manufacturing construction have been a surprise to many as the sector has been riding a roller coaster since the recession. After a flat 2013, the forecast calls for 2014 to end up 6 percent, growing an additional 8 percent in 2015.
  • Transportation – Transportation construction also continues at a solid pace with 7 percent growth in 2014.

To download a copy of the full report, click here. For reprint permission or to schedule an interview with the author, please contact Sarah Vizard Avallone at 919.785.9221 orsavallone@fminet.com.


Terminations: The Hardest Part of Leadership
May 2026

Throughout my career, I’ve faced a wide variety of challenges, some technical, some interpersonal, and many that forced me to adapt quickly. These days, most of my work is behind a computer in an office, but the lessons I’ve learned apply wherever I go.

Damian Lang
Business Management
Read More
The Compliance Shield: Navigating the New Standards of Field Oversight
May 2026

The modern job site is undergoing a quiet but significant transformation. While the physical act of laying a block remains the core of the trade, the environment surrounding that work is becoming increasingly data-driven. We are moving away from the era o

Shayne Sanders
MAP Partner
Read More
PROSOCO Breaks New Ground With ICC‑ES Listing For Blok‑Guard and Anti‑Graffiti Products
May 2026

After years of pushing to raise the bar on third‑party verification, PROSOCO has reached another industry milestone, this time for anti‑graffiti and surface protection technologies.

Darcy Boyle
MAP Partner
Read More
Elevating Masonry: Old Habits, Familiar Tools, and the Real Reason Masonry Contractors Aren’t Making the Switch
May 2026

Ask a masonry contractor how they run their jobsite, and the answer probably sounds familiar: paper logs, a flurry of texts, maybe a shared email thread. It works until it doesn’t. And yet, even as purpose-built field management software has become more a

Erin Koets
MAP Partner
Read More