1Q/2007 Construction economy index - Housing still uncertain, most other sectors booming

摘要

If you're looking for clues as to where the construction economy is headed next, just look at the housing market. Trouble is, that crucial economic indicator is anybody's guess. "Quite frankly, we don't know," says Dave Reinders, manager of the customer market research group in the construction and forestry division of John Deere. "We keep hearing different reports, but it looks like homebuilders still have pretty healthy inventories on their books. Some of the top homebuilders haven't released earnings projections for 2007, and that kind of tells you that they haven't seen the bottom yet."