Perspective

The Future of Construction

The construction industry has demonstrated remarkable resilience during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic and over a period of significant disruption to the global economy — the worst since the Great Depression some 80 years ago.

The near-term outlook for the global economy remains clouded by a surge in inflation and supply chain bottlenecks, and the Delta variant remains a threat. However, Oxford Economics forecasts in this newly published global forecast Future of Construction, the global construction industry is set to lead global economic recovery from the pandemic over the medium-term and is expected to grow faster than the manufacturing or service sectors.

The global construction market is expected to grow by US$4.5 trillion over the decade to 2030 to reach US$15.2 trillion. To better understand this and prepare for the future with our clients, Marsh and Guy Carpenter chose to partner with Oxford Economics on this project because of its deep industry expertise which, underpinned by advanced data-led analysis, provides genuinely valuable insights to those determining their future strategic direction within industry segments.

As this report makes clear, climate change and its risk and opportunities represent the construction industry’s biggest challenge. ESG and green financing will drive a greener recovery from the pandemic. This report also highlights that the emergence of a deconstruction industry that will reuse existing built assets and tools that will help in the disclosure of the carbon footprint for any new asset ahead of physical construction will become the new norm.

There are huge opportunities and risk factors for the construction industry from climate resilience driven by natural catastrophes.

The common themes that arise from this report – including key observations from construction firms operating in global markets – is changing risk and the opportunities shaping the Future of Construction.

It is therefore essential that the construction industry and insurance marketplace work closely together to ensure changing risk profiles are managed across stakeholders and that continued innovation will be a benefit to society.

Marsh and Guy Carpenter are delighted to have worked with Oxford Economics to provide insight into the opportunities and developments expected within the construction industry globally in the coming years. It will undoubtedly be an exciting period of challenge, but one we should look forward to, as the construction and (re)insurance industries continue to play a vital role in the economic development and future prosperity of the world economy, and in helping to improve the global environment.