91视频

By Nate Beck
91视频 Newswire

Although construction companies have generally continued working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, new figures released Thursday show they are not immune to the economic fallout.

The U.S. economy contracted 32.9 percent in the second quarter of 2020, marking the largest downturn on record. Although most contractors haven’t paused during the coronavirus crisis, statistics released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and analyzed by the Associated Builders and Contractors show the industry suffered along with the rest of the economy.

鈥淒espite construction’s status as an essential industry in most cities and states, the sector did not escape the wrath of COVID-19 during the worst economic quarter on record,鈥� ABC chief economist Anirban Basu said.

Nonresidential fixed investment fell by 27 percent in the second quarter, and residential investment dropped 38.7 percent. In the first quarter of the year, in contrast, fixed investment in nonresidential聽projects had fallen 6.7 percent and residential investment had increased 19 percent.

The figures show the construction industry had a chaotic second quarter. Many contractors reported interruptions in supply chains as well as project cancellations or delays amid a patchwork of local mandates meant to slow the spread of COVID-19.

With the pandemic far from over, builders are likely to wrestle with even more economic fallout in coming months, Basu said.

鈥淲ith case counts spiking in parts of the nation, the U.S. economy has yet to begin a rapid economic recovery,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hile May and June represented periods of robust economic bounce back in terms of employment, retail sales, building permits and manufacturing activity, recovery will become more erratic over the next several months.”