“Ominous” times for construction in the U.S.

Engineering News Record reports that the financial crisis in the U.S. is already threatening to close down construction projects.
In a report dated September 24, “Gasping Bank System Puts Credit in Doubt,” ENR writers said the credit crunch “is threatening to restrict funds needed at every step of the construction industry’s life cycle.”
The report said “For an industry accustomed to risks and dangers, few in construction had seen anything so ominous.”
Sources told ENR’s writers that while commercial projects such as casinos are the first to find themselves being put on hold, the real trouble would strike next year, when large infrastructure projects, which are mostly funded by state and regional banks, could be stifled. The report cited James Nelson of the Risk Management Association, who said that “Unless a project appears near-perfect, it probably won’t get financed.”
The ENR report also suggested that the crisis might have an effect on engineering firm principles, who might delay their retirements because they could find it more difficult to find investors.
The authors of the ENR report are Richard Korman, Debra Rubin, Tom Ichniowski and Steven Setzer. See www.enr.com
So far in Canada there has been little word from economists on how problems in the U.S. might spill over the border and affect construction plans here.