The US government’s thrust on infrastructure spending is likely to boost non-residential and infrastructure construction across the US, according to an outlook by economic research firm ING.
The report estimates that the overall construction spending may inch down by 0.5pc next year due to a decline in residential construction as the housing boom of the past two years winds down.
However, an outlay of $550bn by the Biden administration will likely boost spending on revamping roads and bridges, railways, water infrastructure as well as power infrastructure.
Of the total spending, ING estimates, $110bn will be spent towards rebuilding roads and bridges, $73bn towards revamping the country’s power grids and infrastructure, $66bn towards railways, and $55bn towards water infrastructure. The spending also includes $7.5bn towards encouraging the adoption of electric vehicles.
The latest report affirms the market’s outlook of increased demand and consumption of steel, aluminum, and copper, among other metals across the US to complete these projects. The US Senate passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in early August paving the way for increased demand for steelmaking and expanding the steel and aluminum markets.