Forecasts

Prepare for what’s next with leading construction economists.

U.S. economic recovery continues, clouded by labor, supply and inflation challenges. Highlights from the latest construction forecasts.

Inflation continues its descent as supply chain woes threaten to reemerge, according to the lastest Thirsty Thursday webinar. Presented by Katy Devlin, Content Director for the National Glass Association, the webinar provides a comprehensive overview of the market factors shaping the glass and…

North American float glass manufacturers explore partnerships with solar panel producers and stay ahead of the curve with low-carbon products.

You can’t predict, but you can prepare for a 2024 environment full of uncertainty and potentially extreme outcomes.

There is little agreement among economists about what 2024 will hold. They are split over whether the overall economy will enter recession. They are split over labor market expectations. Over interest rate projections. Over the future of inflation. Construction economists are similarly split…

Highlights from the latest construction forecasts show that U.S. economic recovery slowly continues, shadowed by inflation and labor challenges, and geopolitical risk.

What's ahead for the glass industry? "Industry Trends to Watch," a panel kicking off GlassBuild 2023, welcomed four leaders from all parts of the industry to discuss labor, the advent of AI, and other major trends to be aware of.

The overall U.S. economy will most likely enter recession in the coming months, with nonresidential construction beginning to feel the effects in late 2024, says Connor Lokar, senior forecaster, ITR Economics, who returned to the Glazing Executives Forum at GlassBuild America to deliver the event’s…

At Glass Magazine and its publisher, the National Glass Association, we regularly track a series of economic and industry trend data to better understand what’s on the horizon for glass companies. We look at macro-economic data points, including unemployment and GDP, right along with construction…

The Associated General Contractors' Jan. 4 National and State Hiring and Business Forecast for Commercial Construction meeting discussed both opportunities and concerns for the construction industry in the U.S. for 2023. 

Tips and tools to help you navigate increasing inflation, interest rates and risk.

The key port cities Odessa and Mariupol in Ukraine have suspended most operations, leaving over 1,000 commercial sailors unable to move cargo containers through the Kerch Straight and the Black Sea. The glass manufacturing and other commercial construction industry sectors that rely on Eastern…

I’m neither an economist nor a forecaster. However, there are a few key market indicators I’ve been tracking in recent months in an effort to see though the cloudy forecasts of leading construction economists.  

The pandemic continues to hold good news and bad news for the construction industry.

Architecture firms reported another month of extremely strong business conditions in June, with an ABI score of 57.1, with any score over 50 indicating billings growth.

Total construction starts lost 7 percent in June, slipping to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $863.6 billion, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. All three major sectors―residential, nonresidential building, and nonbuilding―pulled back during the month.

The Associated General Contractors of America issued an inflation alert last week, responding to the construction industry’s “unprecedented mix of steeply rising materials prices, snarled supply chains, and staffing difficulties, combined with slumping demand that is keeping many contractors from…

A glance at one economic indicator for glass industry leaders to track as they look to identify opportunities for growth and potential challenges ahead.

Forecasters expect to see a lasting hit to government and education but express some optimism in health care.

The pandemic disrupted commercial construction in 2020. What will 2021 hold for industry companies as the market and the overall economy continue to recover? Check out the topline takeaways from the commercial construction outlook from Glass Magazine’s Annual Forecast.

With the threat of COVID-19 still looming, the U.S. economy made modest progress in October as employers added 638,000 jobs to payrolls.

As the world reopens with new rules, we’re looking at a very different market than we were in January and February. While construction is down across many commercial sectors, there are still some areas of potential optimism, such as health care, industrial and education. Many forecasts also…

The U.S. economy is slowing but is unlikely to go into recession. Details on threats to the construction economy, regional winners & losers and building trends.

Despite notable M&A activity in glass in recent years, the industry remains fragmented, presenting consolidation opportunities to expand infrastructure and achieve synergies through scale. Read on for key market acquisitions from recent years and an outlook for future activity.

What will 2020 have in store for the overall economy and for construction? And, what potential threats should glass industry companies watch for as they make investment and hiring decisions, bid projects and more in the year ahead?

Hard to believe it is more than a quarter into 2019; time flies when you’re having fun. What is more fun than to think about where we can go in the next decade, and what we have to look forward to? Solar power I was thinking about this while traveling across the country recently. I couldn’t help…

  01. Sales increase in 2018. Seventy-one percent of Top Glass Fabricator respondents reported an increase in sales from 2018, the same percentage that reported year-over-year gains in 2017. However, it is down from 2016, when 88 percent of respondents reported gains. In 2018, 24 percent…

What’s driving future glass trends? Transparency, performance and technology, according to Lisa Rammig, senior associate for Eckersley O’Callaghan. Rammig spoke Jan. 23 during the 2019 National Glass Association Annual Conference in Naples, Florida. To meet next-generation demands, players from…

Many economists are pointing to a potential slowdown in the U.S. economy after nearly a decade of sustained growth. “We see some headwinds coming,” said economist Connor Lokar during his forecast presentation at the Glazing Executives Forum at GlassBuild America in September. So, how can glass…

The glass-making process starts with raw materials heated to 2,900 degrees Fahrenheit to produce molten glass. Pictured, the molten glass floats on a molten tin bath to become a flat ribbon. Photo courtesy of Guardian Industries.   The global float glass industry…