Supply chains improved in 2023, with the Global Supply Chain Pressure Index hitting a historical low in October and almost all material divisions seeing stable or improving lead times. In 2024, slowing private-sector construction starts should keep supply chain pressure manageable, but the current pipeline and increase in publicly funded construction is anticipated to prevent price reductions.

“Electrical goods are the exception to widespread supply chain improvement and stability; data center demand, electrification and more demanding tech-enabled spaces across sectors are keeping lead times long and prices rising,” added Andrew Volz, Research Lead, Project and Development Services, Americas, JLL.

With all the factors impacting the construction industry in different ways, the outlook for the industry is positive. The global pandemic revealed inadequacies in our built environment, which the construction industry is the key actor in addressing – high interest rates or not. Despite the overwhelming need to respond to these demands, there are many structural and complex issues to solve along the way.

“For a successful year ahead, it is imperative that industry leaders keep three strategies in mind,” Burns said. “They must know their people in order to retain talent, know their projects to understand what technologies can be used to assist and know their markets in order to anticipate what is coming next and plan for success.”

JLL Project and Development Services is a leader in the development, design, construction and branding of commercial real estate projects for the world’s most prominent corporations, educational institutions, public jurisdictions, healthcare organizations, industrial facilities, retailers, hotels, sports facilities and real estate owners. Ranked No. 1 Top Development Company by Modern Healthcare, No. 3 in Building Design + Construction’s 2021 Construction Management Giants survey, No. 43 on Interior Design Top 100 Giants, No. 2 on Engineering News-Record’s 2021 list of Top 50 Program Management Firms and No. 4 on their 2022 list of Top 100 Construction Management-for-Fee Firms, JLL’s project management team comprises 8,500 project managers across 80 countries and is actively managing $99.4 billion under construction. Visit us.jll.com/deliver-projects to learn more.

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