Northeast Construction Industry Convenes at 2nd Annual Marcum Commercial Construction Summit
New York City, NY – Over 250 construction contractors and allied service providers from across the Northeast convened at the 2nd annual Marcum Commercial Construction Summit yesterday at the Omni Hotel in New Haven, CT, to hear from national leaders about the future of the industry. The summit was presented by the Construction Services Group of Marcum LLP, in collaboration with CT ABC and CFMA of Connecticut.
Attendees heard from Anirban Basu, Chairman of Sage Policy Group and Marcum’s Chief Construction Economist, and Stephen Boughton, a Senior Consultant with FMI. Mr. Basu, who authors the quarterly Marcum Commercial Construction Index, provided perspective on the current state of the construction industry and an outlook on the near future. Predicting that the current business cycle will soon peak, he discussed the factors that will affect future demand for construction services and the geographic distribution of growth and employment in the sector.
“At long last, the economy appears to be recovering with some degree of force, and construction spending is on the rise,” Mr. Basu said. “During a recent 12-month period, nonresidential construction spending expanded by 7 percent despite continued public funding constraints. The nation’s energy and industrial sectors appear to be particularly active, and there are also large-scale investments taking place at many of the nation’s seaports and entertainment districts. But every recovery sows the seeds of its own end. With the labor market tightening, the specter of wage inflation has begun to emerge. Rising interest rates could soon follow, potentially setting the stage for construction’s next downturn.”
Mr. Boughton discussed how successful firms navigate the dynamic and sometimes volatile construction environment. He encouraged companies to emphasize excellence over expansion and to avoid becoming complacent in the current growth market. “Being great during the good times is a little like the rising tide raising all of the ships in the harbor. Consider those contractors that were great during the worst recession the United States has ever seen. What did they have that made them successful? Was it serendipity or a true strategic competitive edge?” Mr. Boughton posed.
“The sigh of relief from our industry was audible at this year’s Marcum Commercial Construction Summit, now that the full effects of the economic recovery are finally being realized,” said Joseph Natarelli, Marcum’s Construction Industry Leader and Partner-in-Charge of the Firm’s New Haven office. “Firms across the board are enthusiastically bidding on jobs and logging healthier profit margins. But as underscored by our speakers, proper planning for the future will be essential in order to prolong the momentum and sustain profitability.”
This year’s Marcum Commercial Construction Summit was sponsored by Accubuild (keynote); Bruin, Deldin Didio Associates, Inc. and McElroy, Deutch, Mulvaney & Carpenter (gold); Zbrella (silver); and others.
Marcum LLP’s Construction Services Group provides strategic and timely accounting, audit, and consulting and taxation services to construction clients ranging from start-ups to multi-billion-dollar enterprises. The firm’s technical experts serve on numerous industry boards and committees and regularly contribute to construction conferences and publications.
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Marcum LLP is a top-ranked national accounting and advisory firm dedicated to helping entrepreneurial, middle-market companies and high net worth individuals achieve their goals. Marcum’s industry-focused practices offer deep insight and specialized services to privately held and publicly registered companies, and nonprofit and social sector organizations. The Firm also provides a full complement of technology, wealth management, and executive search and staffing services. Headquartered in New York City, Marcum has offices in major business markets across the U.S. and select international locations. #AskMarcum.
