Construction Costs Delaying Projects Not to beat a dead horse, but higher employee, raw material and equipment costs are definitely hurting the number of projects let by states these days. And we believe this may catch up to the industry. Case in point: According To ENR.Com, “Florida has about 8,000 projects in various stages in its 5-year work program, but was forced to defer 62 of them when its highway budget came up short about $1 billion.” During the past few months we have been hearing from manufacturers and dealers out on job sites that many road projects around the country are currently under review or various phases of projects are being placed on hold due to the increased costs. We seriously wonder if the cycle we are enjoying so much now could be shortened by these events and lead to a new case study as to why and when the construction cycle might turn. Should we be conscious of how all of us in the industry could be unintentionally contributing a downward pressure on the upside of the cycle? Maybe we’ll learn something from the oil industry as we watch the world try to adapt and cope with an industry making unheard of profits, where the president of a major oil company recently received a $40 million bonus, and pawn shops are raking it in these days as people scrounge for gas money.
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