ForConstructionPros.com

It was only a matter of time before the weakness in residential construction began to have some negative effects on the nonresidential market. After all, single-family housing activity is closely aligned with land clearing, retail, utility, roads/street and other sectors supporting urban growth.

Add to this the drop in consumer confidence over the past year, plus declining job creation, and the problem is further compounded. As less consumer dollars are spent, state and federal tax coffers shrink. Public works construction will ultimately suffer as a result.

So how bad are things likely to get? As usual, it depends. Some of you may have already started to feel the pinch, while others will remain largely unaffected in the year ahead.

Continued weakness in the housing market seems a given in 2008. The downturn in new housing starts is expected to slow, yet numbers will remain below 2007 levels.

Nonresidential construction is also likely to see declines. Yet, this should be taken in the context of its performance over the past couple years. In '07, commercial activity was up roughly 17%; this was on top of double-digit growth in '06. So any slowing in the New Year will come off of historically high levels.