2024 Midyear Construction Economics Forecast

Ken Simonson has been Chief Economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, the leading construction trade association, since 2001. He provides insight into the economy and what it implies for construction and related industries through frequent media interviews, presentations, and the Data DIGest, his weekly one-page e-newsletter that goes to more than 20,000 subscribers.

Ken has over 40 years of experience analyzing, advocating, and communicating about economic and tax issues. He currently serves as an advisor to the Census Bureau’s construction data re-engineering initiative. He is a Fellow and past president of the National Association for Business Economics, and he is co-director of the Tax Economists Forum, a professional meeting group he co-founded in 1982.

Ken has a BA in economics from the University of Chicago, and an MA in economics from Northwestern University.

Sarah Martin is the Associate Director of Forecasting at Dodge Construction Network, where she forecasts & analyzes construction industry data for the US and Canada, across all major construction types and geographies. She is a contributing author to Dodge’s Construction Market Forecasting Service (CMFS) and the Canadian Construction Forecasting Service (CCFS). Sarah frequently writes, analyzes and presents on several topics related to construction and the US economy, including speaking at Dodge’s Outlook events.

Prior to DCN, Sarah was an Economist at Fastmarkets RISI where she authored forecasts in bioenergy and wood products, and developed consulting studies related to those topics. She holds a B.S. in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics from the University of Rhode Island and an M.A. from Clark University.

Kermit Baker is the Chief Economist for the American Institute of Architects in Washington, D.C. In this capacity, he analyzes business and construction trends for the U.S. economy and examines their impact on AIA members and the architectural profession. He originated the AIA’s “Work on the Boards” Survey, a monthly assessment of business conditions at architecture firms and the source of the widely followed Architecture Billings Index. He also coordinates the AIA Consensus Construction Forecast Panel, and writes regular economics columns for the AIA member electronic newspaper, AIArchitect.

Kermit also served as the Project Director of the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University from 1995 to 2021.

Prior to joining the AIA, Kermit was Vice President and Director of the Economics Department at Reed Business Information, where he was responsible for industry forecasting.

Kermit received his Masters degree in Urban Planning from Harvard University and holds a Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the same field. In 2002, Kermit was made an honorary member of the American Institute of Architects, and in 2006 was selected to the NAHB National Remodeling Hall of Fame.