Portable Sanitation Association International

ASSOCIATIONINSIGHT Portable Sanitation Association International News BIWEEKLY EDITION AUGUST 5, 2020 Page 6 The connection between real or perceived COVID risk and willingness to visit your communities will obviously have an effect on portable sanitation needs in the affected cities. Meanwhile, there may or may not be increased need for portable sanitation on worksites, at healthcare institutions, and at COVID testing sites. Portable sanitation on worksites tends to depend on construction trends (see below). The need for portable sanitation at hospitals and at testing sites is linked to existing infrastructure, plans for overflow care of COVID-19 cases, and funding for testing. Think about how you can turn these trends into business for your company. Additional equipment, hand washing facilities, and service is essential for slowing the spread of COVID-19; make sure you are able to explain that to your customers. 3. Construction trends in your area. Since the beginning of the pandemic, construction has generally been seen as essential. So the issue is not whether construction will be allowed to continue, but how COVID will affect the need for construction projects overall. There was a record-high backlog on construction leading into 2020. This accumulation of jobs muted the effect of the pandemic on construction in the early part of the year. That began to change in the second quarter. Dodge Data & Analytics, a major resource for construction data reported: "The full force of the pandemic bore down on U.S. construction starts in April as economic activity virtually shut down and local restrictions on construction took effect. […] Starts plunged 22% below the first half of 2019, with only warehouse construction posting a very small gain. Commercial and multifamily construction starts in the top 20 metropolitan areas posted a similar drop of 22% through the first six months of 2020. In the top 10 metro areas, commercial and multifamily starts slid 21% and only one metro area posted an increase." Whether this slowdown has affected your market or not, there is always some construction happening and, in the midst of the pandemic, their needs for equipment and service should go up not down. Here are the construction trends to watch in order to plan for your business: » Projects in planning may be canceled due to drop in demand, decline in capital or slowdown in the overall economy. Retail stores and restaurants may be most likely to cancel expansions. Try to stay on top of this so you can hustle after the jobs that will actually come to fruition. » Educational facilities may delay or accelerate starting new construction. This will vary based on whether your local institutions view the work as essential for post-pandemic conditions. In general, colleges will be cautious about building, while local schools that have already secured funding may move more quickly. » Transportation facilities such as airports and municipal transit stations may postpone later phases of long planned growth. Economic Outlook, Part I: Navigating through Uncertainty…continued from page 4 Source: Dodge Data & Analytics Continued on page 12

• Cover