The Construction Outlook, a quarterly construction market forecast developed by FMI's Research Services Group, notes that FMI's outlook for construction for 2008 remains much the same, but the outlook for 2009 has been revised down slightly because a downturn in nonresidential construction usually lags a slow down in the general economy.
Recently released economic indicators are somewhat mixed. Housing, credit tightening, consumer spending and inflation continue to hinder the economy. While the general economy begins to stabilize somewhat, nonresidential construction is expected to falter late in 2008 and into 2009.
"The Fed continues cutting rates to stimulate the economy, but inflation is becoming a threat and a pause is likely,"said Heather Jones, construction economist for FMI's Research Services.
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