A Disturbing Look at the Construction Meltdown

Key building segments affecting landscape have effectively been sliced in half since times were good in 2005.

You don’t have to ask a landscape installation contractor if the economic crisis and construction meltdown of the past three years has impacted his business. You can tell by the look on his face, or the fact that he’s racing around town pulling a trailer full of maintenance equipment. Maybe you can tell by the fact that he isn’t even in business anymore.

Greenindustrypros.com dug through some historical U.S. Construction Spending data to uncover some startling statistics that put the whole state of the industry in jaw-dropping perspective. Here’s what we found:

Since September 2005, when many landscape contractors were living high on the hog, residential construction spending has been reduced by 63%.

Three important non-residential segments which affect the landscaping business—office buildings, lodging and commercial buildings—are down 33% since September 2005.

One other key segment, health care facilities, is an area that has actually seen some growth—up 8% since September 2005. However, September 2011 construction spending in the health care segment is down 2.6% from September 2010, suggesting that this segment might begin cooling off itself.

Are you a landscape contractor that’s been affected by the construction meltdown? How are you adapting? Share your comments below and/or at our Forum.

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