Thought I'd share an indicator that was updated within the last week: U.S. office construction. I access the data via FRED. A couple of notes:
- New construction only sources 20-25% of pro AV spending, so don't weight it TOO heavily. It's only an indicator for certain types of projects, not maintenance, refurb, refresh, etc!
- The post-pandemic office construction spending recovery appears to have stalled.
- BUT it never fell that much in the first place! Peak to trough was about a 16% fall, compared to 50% from the Great Recession. Current levels of monthly spending are about the same as we saw in early 2019. That's a good level!