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2017 Construction Forecast …continued Part 2 of a series on trends affecting the portable sanitation industry this year. Overall Construction Growth, Average of Forecasts for 2017: 5.65% over 2016 levels. Architecture is a Harbinger What's going on in architecture provides a long view on what we can expect from construction down the road. When architects are busy, the projects they design go into a pipeline that eventually results in building sites requiring portable sanitation. Kermit Baker, Chief Economist for the American Institute of Architects (AIA) says the indicators he watches suggest that architecture project growth is "not terribly strong" at the present time and there is some volatility. He says that among the major construction sectors there are no "strong growth performers." Baker reports , "In terms of outlook for 2017, [a ] little over 40% of firms are expecting fairly significant growth this year, that would be growth of 5% or m ore in revenue. About a quarter of firms are expecting a fairly significant decline this coming year…, and a third are expecting revenue to be about the same in 2017 as in … 2016." "So when you add all of that up , that translates to just 2% projected desig n growth for 2017," which is about half the pace of 2016. This means portable sanitation could see a weaker construction market late in 2017 and into 2018. Pre - Election Forecasts for General Construction Last summer the AIA asked a panel of forecasting experts to weigh in on where they saw the construction markets headed. At that time they projected moderate growth in the mid - single digit range for 2016 as well as 2017. These were pre - election forecasts. At that time the group predicted: • Highest growth in the South and Mountain states of the US. • Declines in certain construction sectors including: o Manufacturing construction down 2.4% o Public safety construction down 8.1% o Transportation construction down 5% o Communication construction down 4% W EEKLY EDITION FEB 15, 2017 P AGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 3