Throughout 2019, the construction industry in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Mississippi performed well and anticipated continued success for 2020. But with the onset of COVID-19 and its increasing severity, contractors and associations have had to assess the short- and long-term impacts of the pandemic.

“Business for the most part has been good—not as robust as some of the other Texas markets, but not terrible either,” says Jerry Nevlud, president and CEO of the Houston chapter of the Associated General Contractors (AGC).  While it’s still not clear what the total impact of the pandemic will be, Nevlud says some projects have been put on hold and a few canceled outright.  “Members are still somewhat busy and are currently fairly busy looking at future work,” he says.