The Construction Record Podcast™ – Episode 327: 2023 economic year in review with Alex Carrick and Michael Guckes

On this episode of The Construction Record Podcast™, digital media editor Warren Frey looks back at 2023 and forward to 2024 through an economic lens with ConstructConnect chief economist Alex Carrick and senior economist Michael Guckes.  Chief amongst the big construction stories of 2023, Carrick said, is the increased number of megaprojects underway in both the United States and Canada, as well as an intense push to electrification of infrastructure on both sides of the border. However he cautioned that in order for this change to happen, the number of electric vehicles has to increase. There will be bumps along the way, Carrick said, but eventually this transition will occur. Guckes pointed to a weakening commercial and residential market in 2023, but said the movement of manufacturing back to the United States along with new construction opportunities including increased military spending as geopolitics around the world continues to fluctuate. Carrick said the biggest economic story in 2024 will be a decline in interest rates, resulting in more people looking to buy property and invest in businesses, and pointed to Canadian population growth as also impactful to the economy. He also said several new megaprojects such as the LNG facility in Kitimat and the completion of the Trans Mountain project will positively impact Canada's GDP. Guckes echoed that Canada, once these new projects are online, will be a viable alternative to Russian gas and other energy providers, and said in the United States water and sewage project while not glamourous have big implications for the construction industry. Both economists also agreed that an increasing use of data centers will mean further construction projects. You can listen to The Construction Record on the Daily Commercial News and Journal of Commerce websites as well as on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music's podcast section. Our previous podcast with highlights from a recent Buildings Show fireside chat style panel about artificial intelligence (AI) moderated by ConstructConnect director of news media Vince Versace, featuring LanadLogic CEO Arash Shahi and Doug Dockery, ConstructConnect's chief technology officer is here. Thanks for listening. DCN-JOC News Services