From February 2020, delivery times for materials needed to complete construction projects were delayed as factories across the globe shuttered to mitigate the health impact of COVID-19. As manufacturers resumed production and shipping re-started, issues at major ports stemming from a lack of receiving personnel and truck drivers, especially on the West Coast, led to long waits to offload, increasing delivery times and compounding the existing shortages. The war in Ukraine also kept raw materials like pig iron for steel and neon used in the manufacture of semiconductors from conversion into a final product. All of the delays in supply chain affected a wide array of products, including wallboard, insulation, windows, paint, and transformers.

The positive news is that the global supply chain has begun to normalize as inflation impacts consumer demand and producers shift to a more regionalized model that fosters resiliency and timely deliveries. This trend should continue for the foreseeable future, making supply more reliable and shortages much less likely — and keeping costs more affordable and projects well-supplied. With the products on hand at the right time to get the job done, all that is needed is a skilled labor force to complete the projects.

The pandemic had a significant effect on the construction industry, with more than 1 million workers furloughed for more than two months during the U.S. lockdowns of February to April 2020. Since then, employment in the construction industry has bounced back, but firms are still short workers. Unlike other industries that have seen accelerated growth in wages among professionals, the construction trades saw wages shrink since the pandemic — from 20% to 23% overall. This makes attracting and retaining qualified, skilled talent more difficult in an already challenging time. What’s more is that the construction industry is expected to see 12% job growth to 2031, but approximately 41% of its current labor force will be eligible to retire by the same year.

An additional pressure is that unlike previous generations, millennials are not entering the trades like others before them, seeking instead more flexible, remote opportunities. A higher starting wage than most white-collar professions with an almost endless earning opportunity is one of several positives that may attract millennials to the construction trade. Their college-graduate counterparts average nationally just $34,000 per year starting out — with salary variations occurring regionally — and are saddled with student loan debt averaging $37,000.