Some facts about construction industry in Canada for civil engineers.


This Month's Outlook



(% change from year ago)
2005 2006 2007 (f) 2008 (f)
8.6 14.4 7.1 9.9
Highway/Bridge/Tunnel Construction Spending

Highway construction spending picked up in January but is still 1.5 percent below the peak in May 2006.

(% change from year ago)
2005 2006 2007 (f) 2008 (f)
5.2 4.8 -0.3 0.4


Construction Employment
Contractors hired 32,000 people during the warm December-January timeframe, but this is certain to be reversed as seasonal weather returns.




(% change from year ago)
2005 2006 2007 (f) 2008 (f)
21.3 13.4 -6.9 -6.9

Construction Equipment Shipments
Orders and shipments at U.S. factories plunged by one-third in January from the steady level of the previous 13 months.

(% change from year ago)
2005 2006 2007 (f) 2008 (f)
7.8 13.7 12.4 7.0


Nonresidential Building Construction Spending

The recent surge of nonresidential project starts ensures double-digit expansion of construction spending through 2007 and above-average growth in 2008.

(% change from year ago)
2005 2006 2007 (f) 2008 (f)
6.4 -12.3 -10.0 -7.1


Housing Starts
Starts dropped sharply to 1.408 million units in January. This is below the current, depressed level of new home demand.


For more economic information for the construction industry, please visit http://www.BuildingTeamForecast.com." rel="nofollow">LINK

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Sunil Sharma, P.Eng.