State of the Commercial Construction Industry

January 10, 2023 at 9:00 a.m.

By Cass Jacoby.

Going into 2023, thought leaders David Corson and Heidi J. Ellsworth take stock of the commercial construction industry as a whole.

In Season 4, Episode 74 of the Roofing Road Trips podcast, Heidi J. Ellsworth meets with publisher and editor of Commercial Construction & Renovation, David Corson. These two roofing industry thought leaders take a look at the state of the commercial construction industry, shedding light on what is happening at current with building owners, facility managers and general contractors in the commercial space.

Ultimately, roofing is a subtrade within construction, and is deeply affected by what is happening on the commercial side, on new construction, on restoration, and everything that's going out there. Keeping an eye on the larger world of commercial construction is key to gleaning insight within how roofing will be affected.

Of the biggest trends to keep track of, according to David, are that building owners and homeowners want their buildings to be as foolproof as possible. “They want them to be architecturally stimulating. They want to save energy. They want to have instant, easy installation and they want the guarantee,” says David. “That's the biggest thing...the roof is probably the most important thing on any commercial building because if you don't have the roof and it leaks, it's not a good thing.”

Looking into the future, David see’s sustainability becoming the main focus of the industry. “I think everybody understands what sustainability is and being green and to conserve and recycle,” says David. “In the back of everyone's mind when they're building something, they want to be able to promote it that they're green, that they're trying to reuse, recycle.” David predicts that greener builds will become more normative as 2023 progresses.

Listen to the podcast for more insight into what is happening in the commercial construction industry and what it means for roofing.

About Cass

Cass works as a reporter/writer for RoofersCoffeeShop, AskARoofer and MetalCoffeeShop. When she isn’t writing about roofs, she is putting her Masters degree to work writing about movies and dancing with her plants.