Most of the U.S. construction industry may be on flat-line status, but the building pulse is still strong in Salt Lake City, Utah. More than $4 billion of large mixed-use, commercial, education and health-care projects are under construction in the metropolitian area, with others ready to start construction or go out for bid.
The good news is this activity does not translate into local increases for construction materials and labor due to the drastic reduction in housing-sector activity. The bad news is that low bids based on current low materials and labor prices from bidders desperately trying to survive pose long-term, difficult-to-manage increases in risk for owners and general contractors.