der items such as cabinets and furniture up to six months in advance . That also meant Moayed had to pay to have those stockpiled supplies trucked to the job site — rather than have his suppliers deliver them directly to the job as they normally would — in order to ensure the project could continue to move forward .
Moayed says planning well ahead for materials that in the past had been readily available is one pandemic-driven change that he expects to make an ongoing element of his operations . “ We learned to plan a lot earlier for procurement ,” says Moayed . “ I don ’ t think that ’ s something we really want to lose .”
Because many in the construction industry did better than they initially thought they would a year ago . “ Business wasn ’ t great last year , but it wasn ’ t horrible ; I think we all expected it to be horrible ,” Parrott says . There is guarded optimism that as a post-pandemic “ normal ” returns , construction will continue to pick up and possibly enjoy a healthy surge . Public sector projects that were planned years in advance and backed by bond measures are more likely to move forward , although Parrott says that he is keeping a hopeful eye on revisions to the state budget in May after a lean budget crafted with a large dose of financial uncertainty was presented in January .
“ Looking at all the trends from all the industry groups , right now , the outlook seems to be fairly positive ,” Cohen says . But it ’ s not clear sailing , she says , as the industry is concerned about potential inflation , the cost and availability of labor , shortages of materials and whether interest rates will rise .
Hooker says that in retrospect , despite the unusual circumstances surrounding the pandemic , 2020 ultimately wasn ’ t much different from the normal ups and downs of the construction industry . “ It feels like an interruption ,” he says . “ It feels like a blip that we ’ ve had many times before and will happen many times in the future as well .”
He agrees that there ’ s s cautious optimism that a quick rebound is forthcoming . “ We went into the pandemic in just wonderful times : Things were really , really busy ,” says Hooker . “ Optimism , I think , will drive prosperity in the design and construction industry … bonds will sell if people are optimistic , the school district will build schools .”
Moayed also believes good times are in the immediate future . “ We ’ ve had a lot of pent-up demand , so I think the market is going to immediately be very strong ,” he says . “ I have a lot of work out to bid right now , some of it from owners who literally lost their financing … and some who put things on a slow boat on purpose because of COVID . Everyone ’ s trying to start their construction before everyone else , not realizing they ’ re all going at the same time .”
Ken Smith is a freelance writer , public relations consultant and video producer who is also managing editor of Sierra Sacramento Valley Medicine magazine . More at kdscommunications . com .
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