The level of new construction, repair and renovation activity across key building markets determines demand for industry services. During the recession, the collapse of the housing market and the ensuing credit crisis brought both residential and commercial construction to a halt and severely constrained demand for industry services. Despite subsequent improvement in demand, the industry has yet to recover in full, and revenue is expected to decline at an annualized 1.4% to about $11.6 billion in the five years to 2014. Still, this includes forecast growth of 8.1% in 2014 in light of strong commercial and office space construction and improving institutional construction, which together account for the majority of industry revenue.
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