Constructing the Future: Surviving and thriving in the era of disruption

For more than two years, the global construction industry has endured a severe stress test of its capital, labour and resources. The industry has encountered successive global shocks: from pandemic restrictions to prolonged supply chain disruption, inflation increases, an energy crisis, volatile commodity prices and the first large-scale land war in mainland Europe in 80 years.

Our report examines how the construction industry is coping in an era of significant macro, geopolitical and technological disruption. It looks at how contractors across Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East are adapting their investment strategies to mitigate risk and exploit opportunities; how they are tackling price increases and supply chain issues, responding to increasing ESG regulation and investing in technology to help resolve some of these issues.

Key findings:

• Investment risks are on everyone’s radar, while regional opportunities remain promising: 54% of respondents say securing construction projects without fixed-price budgets is a top priority in the coming 18 months, overtaking government contracts, which had been their top strategy for the preceding 18 months.
• Supply chain and pricing challenges are cause for concern and risk mitigation strategies are being implemented: 88% of respondents in Asia, 85% in Europe and 78% in the Middle East anticipate price increases for materials in the coming 18 months.
• ESG and green targets are priorities - but there are clear regional differences: 82% of respondents in Europe and 73% in both Asia Pacific and the Middle East identify carbon footprint reduction across operations and supply chains as one of their long-term ESG-related objectives.
• Different countries are at quite different stages in their tech journey: 68% of respondents in Europe use AI tools in procurement processes, compared to 45% and 30% of those in Asia and the Middle East, respectively.