{"id":12596,"date":"2023-02-02T16:50:56","date_gmt":"2023-02-03T00:50:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/modestly-optimistic-outlook-for-2023\/"},"modified":"2023-02-02T16:50:56","modified_gmt":"2023-02-03T00:50:56","slug":"modestly-optimistic-outlook-for-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/modestly-optimistic-outlook-for-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Modestly optimistic outlook for 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Harshil Gupta, Adam Freill, Alex Carrick and Mary Van Burren gave their insights for the construction industry in 2023.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It won\u2019t surprise the panelists from Procore\u2019s Canadian Construction Forecast 2023 if the construction sector outpaces the slowing growth expected in Canada\u2019s general economy this year.<\/p>\n

The panelists at the event, which took place at the Fairmont Royal York hotel in Toronto on January 31, outlined what their research is indicating as they discussed factors driving construction forward in Canada, as well as potential downside risks such as geopolitical and economic trends in 2023.<\/p>\n

Harshil Gupta, regional product marketing manager for Procore, hosted the panel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a historically tight labour market,\u201d said Gupta. He kicked off the discussion by saying that the Business development Bank of Canada (BDC) expects the Canadian gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by a modest 0.5 per cent in 2023. \u201cThey would like us to think of this as economic stagnation rather than recession,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

Mary Van Buren, president of the Canadian Construction Association cited her association\u2019s own economic reporting for 2023, which expects a slowdown in the second quarter on the residential side of construction. Van Buren said that sentiment and optimism remains high in the industry, however, and stated that factors like decaying infrastructure in Canada and the push to \u201cgreen\u201d civil infrastructure and buildings across the country will create opportunity for the construction industry.<\/p>\n

Immigration will also have a positive impact on high-rise residential construction, said Adam Freill, editor at On-Site<\/em> magazine. Freill expects the increased number of newcomers to Canada in 2022 and 2023 to be a positive catalyst for the multi-unit residential segment of construction in the coming years.<\/p>\n

Alex Carrick, chief economist at ConstructConnect<\/em>, considered the geopolitical factors that will affect the industry, \u201cI think the talk of recession is overblown,\u201d said Carrick, \u201cThere was a 2.1 per cent increase in GDP in the U.S. in 2022 and the unemployment rates are low in both Canada and the U.S.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrick stated that the global push toward Net-Zero 2050 is as important as the industrial revolution because the entire world is moving away from a dependence on fossil fuels. With this global push, Carrick says mega-construction projects have started in Canada and the U.S. as the countries look to build hydrogen plants, electric-vehicle manufacturing plants, chip-making plants and battery plants like the over $5 billion battery-manufacturing plant by Stellantis and LG Energy Solution in Windsor, Ont.<\/p>\n

Among the factors that could have a negative impact on the industry were labour and supply chain shortages.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur contractors are feeling the pain of shortages. They\u2019ve had to decline projects because of labour shortages and it\u2019s impacting Canada\u2019s ability to grow,\u201d said Van Burren.<\/p>\n

\u201cLabour has always been in the top three issues impacting our industry,\u201d said Freill, who added that technology like software to manage projects and paperwork can help mitigate some of the issues. \u201cIt\u2019s about doing more with what we do have, and technology can help us do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each panelist mentioned the positive impact technology can have in the industry. Carrick expects automation to continue trending higher in the industry and suggested modular building and 3-D printing of components as advances that can help the industry. Van Burren mentioned that exoskeletons can also help mitigate the wear-and-tear on labourers\u2019 bodies and can allow more types of people to enter construction.<\/p>\n

Beyond technology, Van Burren put some of the ownness of solving the industry\u2019s labour-shortage issue on the federal government: \u201cWe need to change the point system for immigration. We need to let in more skilled labourers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Van Burren said she is looking forward to more predictability in the coming year. She would like to see a stabilizing workforce and GDP and expects the government to commit to long-term (25-year) infrastructure plans.<\/p>\n

\u201cLong-term, we have a good outlook in terms of infrastructure. I\u2019m looking forward to seeing another year of growth,\u201d said Freill.<\/p>\n

Carrick took a geo-political approach in looking ahead. \u201cCanada is poised to hit a population of 40 million in one year,\u201d he said, citing the positive impact immigration should have on construction and building our cities. \u201cGoing forward, U.S. politics are going to be a key determining factor.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n