North America

The USA continues to be the most powerful country in the world, with its’ close to $30 trillion economy that powers its unsurpassed technology know-how, creativity, EPC knowhow & worldwide influence.

The recent US bombing of Iran’s (3) nuclear facilities & its’ impact on the Global & Middle East construction industry still has to be determined. Construction costs & the material supply chain could be seriously affected; the jury is still out on this significant issue.  

The need for new data center construction in the US is continuing to grow rapidly. We hear just about every week of a new facility starting to be constructed across the US. Construction of Data Centers, Semiconductor Fabrication Centers, High-Tech Micro-Chip production facilities and Call Centers primarily in the USA, with some activity as well in some European & Asian countries is extremely active, driven by the anticipated future needs of AI services.

Half a dozen European & Asian auto & construction equipment manufacturing companies have announced plans to set up & build new manufacturing facilities across the US; these production facilities will cost more than $500 billion to construct & will employ 1,000’s of construction workers & factory workers over the next 5 years.

Falling US interest rates could present an opportunity for new construction projects to move further into 2025.

As much as 25% of construction workers are migrants, predominantly from Mexico & Central America. It is believed that as much as 50% of these construction workers are not permitted / documented to work in the USA, this could be a major problem in the next 6 to 12 months with President Trump’s promise to removed undocumented migrants from the USA.

US & Canadian labor shortages are a serious problem for the construction sectors. The US construction industry will need to recruit close to half a million new skilled & un-skilled construction workers in 2025, to replace retiring “baby-boomers” and to keep up with demand for new construction work. 

Specific construction material prices are forecast to increase by 2.2% to 3.3% in the next 6 months driven by the Trump Administration’s future tariffs on Canada, Mexico & China. The recent conflict in the Middle East could also impact construction materials & imported components.

Mexico & Canada supply more than $30 billion worth of construction materials used in the US construction sector. Material such as such structural steel, aluminum products, timber / framing & lumber products, plywood & drywall are widely used materials.

Six months into the Trump Presidency, it appears that there will be less “red tape” which should make the construction permitting process easier. The possibility of less rules & regulations & easier permitting process is weighed up against possible tariffs & labor shortages. 

The pharmaceutical, bio, medical device (life sciences) construction sector has seen a slowdown in the last 12 months, look for this to continue well into 2025 as the sector reflects on what impact President Trump will have on this important sector. 

The 2025 US / Canadian / Mexico Construction market is estimated to be in the $3.05 to $3.15 trillion range, an increase of 2.6% from 2024 (Year to Year), still the world’s largest construction market. In the USA, construction cost increases have returned to more customary levels since the conclusion of COVID in the range of 2.5% to 3.1%.

Severe shortages of skilled construction labor such as Pipefitters, Welders, Electricians and Instrumentation technicians continue to be a serious problem to the US construction industry.

The US construction industry continues to face supply chain challenges, price spikes, longer delivery times for such as components as MCC / switchgear, modules / specialized skids- pre-assemblies, large compressors, heat exchanges, certain key instrument devices, larger pumps, fabricated process piping, specialized pharmaceutical production equipment, HVAC / HEPA / equipment and filters.

Canada’s construction market is projected to grow to C$275 billion by the end of 2025. Canada’s construction activity in the 3rd Q of 2025 is forecast to expand marginally by 1.6% to 1.9% over 2024 levels.  Construction material costs are set to increase by 2.2% to 2.7% and construction labor will see an increase of 2.5% to 2.9% in 2025. The Canadian infrastructure, civil engineering, mining and Oil & Gas construction sectors are experiencing a pick-up as we move further into 2025.

The Mexican construction sector is forecast to grow in 2025 and 2026 due to a number of Government sponsored infrastructure projects and a pipeline of commercial and industrial projects. Mexico’s GDP will be in the 0.7% to 1.1% range going in the 2025 3rd Q. Construction related inflation is currently 3.6% to 4.1% and construction unemployment has improved in the last 3 months to between 2.6% & 2.9%.