The 30,000-sq-ft Palomar Community College District Maintenance and Operations complex in San Marcos, Calif., was built with sustainability in mind.

Leo Sveikauskas, research economist in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Division of Productivity Research and Program Development, had been thinking about issues in measuring construction productivity after a discussion with peers in that unit of BLS, part of the U.S. Labor Dept.

After rising fast in 2018, material prices will level off, aided by slowing construction starts

General contractors and specialty trades often struggle to manage time cards and productivity logs.

Dodge chief economist Robert Murray and others see transportation sector growth, but declines in multifamily and other housing for an overall flat construction outlook.

Housing and commercial construction starts are expected to fall next year, but institutional and public works construction will grow.

After declining through the summer, construction starts are set to pick up through year end