Coronavirus Could Impact U.S. Construction Industry

By Karen L. Edwards, RCS Editor.

With 30% of building product imports coming from China, expect to see some ripples in the roofing industry – especially in new construction.

As if 2020 wasn’t bringing enough uncertainty with the ongoing labor shortage, tariff wars and an upcoming election to elect a new president, we are now hearing that the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak could impact the construction industry in the U.S.

At the start of the outbreak, Chinese officials quarantined cities and manufacturers were closing plants to try to contain the virus. Weeks later, streets are still empty, and factories have not reopened. With many other countries reliant on parts and resources made in China, it is having an effect beyond Chinese borders. The New York Times reported that Nissan of Japan would be shutting down for several days “due to supply shortages of parts from China.”

Construction Dive cited Richard Branch, chief economist for Dodge Data & Analytics as saying that “the American construction industry will not be immune to the coronavirus’ impact.” He estimated that building products imported from China account for approximately 30% of all building product imports in the U.S.

MarketWatch reported on February 24 that the Dow slid more than 950 points due to fears of a global economic hit from the COVID-19 outbreak. Raffi Boyadjian, senior investment analyst at XM, told MarketWatch in a note that “the number of confirmed coronavirus cases outside of China continued to multiply over the weekend, sending shivers across financial markets as investors were forced to reassess their view that the impact of the outbreak will likely be short-lived.”

Nearly 4 in 5 American companies with operations in China do not have enough workers to run their full production lines reported U.S. News and World Report. Apple issued an investor update saying that customer demand for their products in China is down and that worldwide iPhone supply will be affected due to the inability to manufacture.

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