The largest drop in energy costs in decades has to have an impact on construction costs and markets. But perhaps not as much as you may think.
"The impact of the drop in oil prices will be limited to a few specific markets, such as petrochemical plants, and it will be very regional," says Robert Murray, chief economist for Dodge Data & Analytics. He still predicts that the dollar value of total construction starts will increase 9% to 10% this year. "The pullback in manufacturing is dampening growth but not causing a decline," he says.