Following 5 percent growth in total U.S. engineering and construction spending in 2017 and 2017, FMI predicts another increase of 3 percent this year. Primary growth segments (of 5 percent or more) are expected to include office, educational, public safety, transportation, conservation and development, and manufacturing. Most other segments should roughly match the rate of inflation and therefore be considered stable, but look for the multifamily, lodging and religious markets to experience declines.

According to FMI CEO Chris Daum, “Now is the time to get proactive with conversations and planning around lessons learned from the last downturn and recession-proof your company. While the last recession was historic in scale and duration, the next downturn will likely look very different. Still, through good preparation, companies can take the lessons they (or their predecessors) learned from the last recession and use them to avoid repeating any costly mistakes.”

Visit fminet.com/construction-outlook to read FMI’s full 2019 forecast for the United States and Canada.