Getting a hand on the size of the metal construction market is like trying to
untangle an extension cord. You know there’s an end somewhere but you just can’t follow
the line all the way through. One way to accomplish the task is with a series of snapshots of different elements of the market. Here’s what we’ve found so far. Look for more of these updates as we dig deeper.
Market Size
The most common method for measuring the size of the construction industry is by value put in place. The top two charts to the right show the change in value since 2002 of nonresidential construction for both public and private sectors. Public sector data includes only office, commercial, health care, education, public safety, and amusement and recreation construction and does not include transportation, power, highway, street and bridge, etc.
Number of Employees
According to the Associated General Contractors of America, there were 773,600 construction firms
in 2008 with 91 percent of them employing fewer than 20 workers. The next four charts to the right from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show the total employment for different industry segments associated with the metal construction industry.
Employment Growth
The BLS predicted growth of the nonresidential and roofing construction industries between
2008 and 2018, indicating a more robust market growth than has been experienced to date. The AGC claims that a $1 billion in nonresidential construction spending increase would create or sustain about 28,500 jobs. Of those, 9,700 would be direct construction jobs, and 4,600 indirect
construction jobs, such as for building material suppliers and manufacturers. In addition, the workers and owners would spend their income and thereby induce 14,300 more jobs.
