The Future of Construction

The construction industry has demonstrated remarkable resilience during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic and over a period of significant disruption to the global economy – the worst since the Great Depression some 80 years ago.

Although the near-term outlook for the global economy remains clouded by a surge in inflation and supply-chain bottlenecks and the Delta variant remains a threat — as Oxford Economics forecasts in this newly published global forecast "The Future of Construction" — the global construction industry is set to lead global economic recovery from the pandemic over the medium-term and is expected to grow faster than the manufacturing or service sectors.

The global construction market is expected to grow by US$4.5 trillion over the decade to 2030 to reach US$15.2 trillion. Just four countries — China, India, US, and Indonesia — will account for almost 60% of this growth while the top 10 global construction markets are expected to account for almost 70% of the growth over the same period.

A proportion of the huge build-up in excess household savings across the developed world — equivalent to over 10% of GDP in North America — is expected to be unleashed by consumers and will drive economies to support heightened growth across the residential construction market.

A further wave of increased demand for construction will derive from accelerated infrastructure investment supported by large stimulus programmes aimed at boosting post pandemic economies. 

Themes covered in this report – including climate change, ESG considerations, the emergence of a deconstruction industry and embedding modern methods of construction – are changing the risk profile of the construction industry and creating opportunities which will shape the Future of Construction.