Brexit, the U.S. election, OPEC’s move to cut oil production and the increasingly embattled European Union have firms scrambling
The global construction market has taken a series of hits over the past two years. First, there was the economic slowdown in China, hurting the mining-and-metals sector as Chinese imports dried up. Then, the plunge in oil prices hit markets in that sector and spending in oil-producing countries. But the level of uncertainty has been ratcheted up in the past six months by wide-ranging global events that may provide opportunities—or roadblocks—to the worldwide market.
The uncertainty in the 2015 market can be seen in the results of ENR’s Top 225 International Design Firms survey. The Top 225 firms generated $65.43 billion in design revenue in 2015 from projects outside their home countries, down 7.7%, from $70.85 billion, in 2014. They also had $70.76 billion in revenue from domestic projects in 2015, down 3.7%, from $73.48 billion, in 2014.