Key Takeaways:

• 2023 statewide mid-year construction starts have surpassed 75% of 2022 construction starts with positive growth in all sectors
• Material pricing continues to stabilize with most sectors seeing less than 5% fluctuations from January to June 2023
• Planning ahead and being creative on projects can save time and money with long lead procurement and critical path scopes ​

Overview

Construction Starts: Statewide construction starts have increased in five out of six sectors as compared to mid-year 2022. Commercial, manufacturing and multifamily starts for the first six months of 2023 total over $2.4B dollars, followed by $396M in the education sector and $173M in government buildings. Manufacturing starts in particular are seven times higher than last year statewide.

Construction Workforce: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of June 2023, construction employment in South Carolina totaled 110,050 persons, 3,000 more than in June 2022. South Carolina’s unemployment rate continued to decrease in June to 3.1%, lower than the national average of 3.6%. ​ ​

U.S. Material Pricing: Material pricing continued to stabilize with six-month pricing index averages decreasing for twelve of the nineteen tracked materials. The month-over-month average change for all tracked materials during the last twelve months was 1.36%. The last six months of 2022 saw an average month-over-month change of -3.22% compared to .49% for the first half of 2023. The largest reductions occurred in diesel fuel and steel products, although month-to-month averages for these materials remain irregular. Single-digit changes for all materials other than diesel fuel in the first half of 2023 indicate reduced material cost volatility while still indicating minor cost increases. ​