Revisiting the Predictions Made About Construction During COVID-19

It is no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted certain industries and the

construction industry is no exception.

As lingerings of the virus began, news spread quickly throughout the globe. Though it

seemed like a slight reality at the time, the hope was that the United States would not be

affected. On March 13th, before the virus took a serious effect, constructiondrive.com

ran a survey for construction workers throughout the country. One of the questions

included the following: “How has the coronavirus affected your work?” The results

yielded a rather surprising answer.

Instead of the predicted answers- shortage of materials or government shutdown- it

was anxiety amongst construction workers that was reported at 70%.

What factors does this anxiety stem from? It can include location, condition,

specificalities, and much more.

For example, an electrical or mechanical worker may be more difficult to replace than

just a general contractor because of the rigid licensing laws dependent on each state and

because they are generally not as easily replaceable. Construction attorney, Steve Lesser

states, “If you have a subcontractor whose work force becomes unavailable, who is going

to pick up the slack to perform that work? That’s a real problem especially here in

Florida and elsewhere where they have specific licensing requirements associated with

the performance of specialty trades such as roofing, electrical and swimming pools.”

Another prediction made by the survey was that there would be material delays, making

it evidently more difficult to complete a job. There are some U.S construction companies

that rely on Chinese goods and materials. As COVID-19 initially stems from China,

many factories have been shut down and stopped production, which has directly

affected U.S construction. Joe Natarelli, National Construction industry leader, states,

“By conservative estimates, nearly 30% of all U.S. building product imports come from

China, but some American construction firms rely on China for up to 80% of their

materials.” Companies who relied on Chinese products have been forced to go to other

markets where prices of goods may be higher and may even take longer to find its way to

the U.S. Ultimately, this is slowing down construction projects specifically as there are

no alternate plans.

Looking back at the predictions from March 13th, many are correct. The anxiety from

workers has been immense, supply shortages have occured, and even clients and lenders

have proven to be anxious about starting work again. Currently, many states plan to

reopen within the next few weeks in addition to some states that have already been

reopened. With these reopenings, workers will soon be able to return to their jobs,

hopefully feeling comfortable and worry free in a safe environment. Though the fight is

not over, the plan to reopen should give workers around the country hope and allow

them to return to their jobs soon.

Sources:

https://www.constructiondive.com/news/6-ways-the-coronavirus-outbreak-will-affect-

construction/574042/

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