Escalation Locked Into a 3.3% Pace

摘要

The downturn in the U.S. economy in 2003 failed to blunt inflation for international construction projects. A strong Chinese market helped check a long period of price deflation in Asia at the same time European markets were coming out of their slump. However, worldwide demand still remains relatively weak and global construction inflation is expected to ease in 2004, according to a forecast by Gardiner & Theobald Inc. In its twelfth annual survey of international construction costs conducted exclusively for ENR, the London-based international project and cost management firm reports that construction inflation averaged 3.3% for 20 nations in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. This is the third consecutive year that building cost escalation for this group of nations has held at 3.3%, after averaging 3.8% in 2000 and 1999. Next year, construction inflation is expected to ease by about a half a percentage point, according to the G&T offices in 16 nations that provided cost projections for 2004.