Seaborn: Why roadbuilding, residential construction may carry some producers

Editor’s note: As part of our Road to Recovery coverage, P&Q is turning to some of the industry’s leaders for their takes on the road ahead. This month, leaders were posed with the following question: What is your expectation for aggregate demand in the coming months? Where do you anticipate the greatest demand to come from, and are there areas where you anticipate demand shortcomings?

Over the next several months, we’re forecasting a slight year-over-year decline in aggregate demand throughout our Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern markets.

New infrastructure construction has been a bright spot throughout the pandemic, and we’re expecting roadbuilding to remain strong due to ongoing public-private partnership projects throughout Virginia. Department of Transportation maintenance work has been steady – except in North Carolina, where COVID-19 amplified preexisting budget shortfalls.

We’re anticipating significant declines in the office and retail markets, due to lingering unemployment and continued challenges containing the virus. However, we believe strong demand for new data centers and online fulfillment centers in the Mid-Atlantic will offset some of these losses.

Residential construction started well in 2020, and demand for new homes has varied from market to market. At this time, the data is pointing toward a 2021 recovery.

Scott Seaborn is market research manager at Luck Companies.

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