Construction Spending to Reach $7.2 Billion in 2019.

• Author: Mackenzie, Kathryn
• Position: FROM THE EDITOR

It's being widely reported that 2019 will be the year Alaska emerges from several years of hard economic times with more job opportunities as well as increases in private and public sector spending contributing to a slow crawl out of the recession into what is being characterized as a "post-recession" period. So while Alaska's economic spring might not have sprung quite yet, it looks like it's just around the corner.

Forward momentum in the construction industry will contribute greatly to Alaska's recovery; there's an anticipated uptick in private and public sector spending to $7.2 billion (including earthquake-related spending), a 10 percent increase from last year, according to Alaska's Construction Spending Forecast 2019 by Scott Goldsmith, professor emeritus of economics at the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), prepared for the construction industry.

The primary contributor to the construction industry's increased spending will be a direct result of surges in petroleum spending--forecast to increase 13 percent to $2.7 billion--and national defense spending, set to grow 13 percent to just under $1 billion, according to the report.

"The growth in petroleum spending is attributable to several factors including many recent large discoveries on the North Slope, technological advances driving down the cost of development, positive federal and state policies towards the industry, and a higher oil price," the report says.

Meanwhile, the bulk of national defense spending in Alaska can be attributed to the missile defense installation at Clear Air Force Station and Fort Greely and buildups ahead of the arrival two F-35 squadrons...