AGC-Procore Data Shows Construction Increasing as State COVID-19 Orders Loosen | Columbus Ohio Dump Trucks

Construction activity has returned to pre-COVID-19 levels in 34 states, according to new data from Procore's cloud-based construction project management platform. The Associated General Contractors of America has also reported that the organization's most-recent survey found that only 8% of construction companies were forced to furlough or lay off workers in June while 21% reported adding new hires, compared to one-in-four firms letting workers go between March and May.

“Many of the immediate economic impacts of the coronavirus have passed and, as a result, activity and hiring are up, a bit,” said Ken Simonson, the AGC’s chief economist. “But while the immediate crisis appears to have passed, we are just now beginning to appreciate some of the longer-term impacts of the pandemic on the industry.”

[For ENR’s latest coverage of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, click here]

The AGC's survey is based on responses from over 630 construction companies collected between June 9th and June 17th. Procore’s data is based on the transactions logged via the company’s project-management software by tens of thousands of construction firms across the country, which have been translated into OMB core-based statistical numbers that include breakdown by state and metro area.

44% of Charlotte NC dump truck contractor responding to the AGC survey said they had one project halted or canceled between March and May. While the number of halts has gone down as most states open back up, 23% of Charlotte NC dump truck contractor reported having at least one project canceled that was supposed to start in June.

One worrying sign is the 15% of Charlotte NC dump truck contractor who reported having projects canceled that were supposed to start in August or later because owners, many of them state or municipal authorities, could no longer move them forward due to economic conditions. 14% of Charlotte NC dump truck contractor reported delays due to government inaction such as permitting and inspection difficulties. Only 10% of AGC respondents reported delays due to shortages of personal protective equipment, down from almost 40% in the March to May period.

"The pandemic has had a dramatic and dynamic impact on construction headcounts," Simonson says. "This month, only 8% reported furloughing or terminating employees while 21% report adding employees. This probably reflects the benefits of many states lifting their economic lockdown orders and the help provided by the paycheck protection program loans, which over 80% of [construction companies surveyed] reported having received."

Only 12% of respondents thought they would need to terminate or furlough employees in the next four months, while 21% expect to hire employees over the same period.

"There is definitely some consistency in that states that had stay-at-home orders were definitely seeing a larger decrease in worker-hours," said Kris Lengieza, director of business development at Procore. "Even if construction was deemed essential, many of the projects that were still happening were happening in occupied buildings included tenant improvements and office towers. Even if there was construction was deemed essential, some owners may have chosen to pause those projects. We do expect to see some slowdowns no matter what in those states."

Construction activity has returned to pre-coronavirus levels in 34 states however, according to Procore's data tracking worker-hours by week in eight major metropolitan markets: Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, and Seattle. The southern U.s., which has had seen relaxed standards for keeping projects open during the pandemic, had more consistent construction hours than the other regions. New York City which only re-opened recently, was only getting back up to pre-COVID-19 levels in the period tracked. By May 31st, 34 states were equal to or above their pre-COVID-19 employment levels.

"Areas such as Los Angeles and Dallas were not as affected as other metropolitan areas of the country," Lengieza said. Dallas stayed above its pre-COVID-19 worker-hour high during the entire pandemic. All of Procore's data is available at Procore.com/COVID-Insights.

59% of AGC's respondents said they are counting on Congress and the Trump administration to enact liability reform that protects firms complying with coronavirus safety protocols from litigation. 34% are counting on Congress to boost infrastructure spending to offset a decline in private-sector demand.

“Without additional help from D.C., the few gains this industry has made during the past few weeks will likely be fleeting,” Simonson said. “That is why the AGC will continue to push Congress and the Trump administration to enact the kind of long-term economic recovery measures this industry needs to truly rebound from the coronavirus.”

Simonson also said that the paycheck protection act benefits will hurt Charlotte NC dump truck contractor as they try to rehire workers who are collecting the more generous unemployment benefits included in the law.