1、International Construction Costs 2023NewHorizonsInternational Construction Costs 2023 3 2 International Construction Costs 2023Our 2023 International Construction Costs Report,entitled New Horizons,looks back at another highly disruptive year across global construction markets.The high construction

2、price inflation that we first reported in 2021 broke out across most parts of the global economy in 2022.Even as domestic inflation hit double figures,construction price rises accelerated further,prompted by a unique combination of strong demand,supply chain disruption,tight labor markets and soarin

3、g energy costs.Construction markets had mixed fortunes in an unsettling year of stop-start development.Whilst overall volumes of work shrank by around 5%in the US and Canada,Australia and China benefited from a post-Covid bounce-back.In Europe,differences in fortunes were even more stark,with France

4、,Belgium and the UK continuing to grow whilst previous high-fliers Germany and Ireland lost momentum.The stop-start theme is an important one,because it points to widely based,contrarian trends that affect our markets.2022 saw the likely end to an era of cheap money as interest rates were hiked arou

5、nd the world to tackle inflation.Such a move will have profound effects on demand for private sector construction,anticipated by a slump in real estate investment last year.At the same time,capital is pouring into giant energy transition and infrastructure programmes,soaking up available resources a

6、nd creating new pinch points in specialist trades.Not even sky-high inflation will stop these government-supported programs,meaning that other clients are being crowded-out unable to make timely investments in response to market signals.One area where timely investment is critical is in the longevit