What should owners budget for cost escalation in the current economy? What pricing structure should we use to accurately estimate costs for projects? This presentation will explore trends in real exchange rates, construction volumes, and major global construction inputs such as oil and steel. Conclusions from these trends will provide the attendees with the understanding of micro and macro global economic drivers and their role in construction costs.

We will examine and evaluate macroeconomic leading indicators such as equities, GDP and job creation to establish which economic gear we are in now for this economic expansion. Using this information we will present a construction weather map for the country and forecast where construction costs will likely trend over the next 2 years.

Through the Reconciliation Tracker, we will provide data and metrics from hundreds of reconciled projects. We will examine how pricing levels have changed since the great recession and advise what we expect for 2019 and 2020.

Lastly, we will analyze two case studies of construction procurement and provide guidance on effective ways to procure projects in an escalating market. How will your procurement schedule affect costs? How can you use procurement to strategically minimize your exposure to construction escalation?

1.5 LU AIA credits are available

James Vermeulen, LEED AP, PQS
James is Managing Principal for the firm. Through his leadership and role as Chief Technologist and Lead Mechanical/Electrical Quantity Surveyor, he brings a set of skills, technical expertise and knowledge to each project he works on. He has been Principal on some of the most complex projects in higher education, healthcare, science+technology and cultural designs as well as in other industries. His management style fosters a collaborative environment marked by open communication, trust and a shared vision. James is responsible for overseeing and reviewing all estimates before publication, high-level client support, facilitating cost reconciliation, and value engineering meetings. He is a recognized speaker at national conferences on the topic of construction economics and forecasting.