I’m a bit of a data hound. I like looking at big tables of numbers, applying formulas to them and identifying patterns and big picture changes. Maybe that’s the lure of the construction industry, economics and baseball for me. There are so many statistics to slice and dice and play with. Did you know Lou Gehrig hit 52 doubles, 18 triples, and 47 home runs in 1927? Same year the Bambino hit 60 HRs!
So here are some fun facts from the Department of Commerce’s Value of Construction Put In Place Report. (That’s the report that removes land costs and focuses strictly on the materials and services component of residential and commercial construction projects.) From 2008-2019 the value of retail construction sank from roughly $44 billion annually to $21.5 billion annually, a 51% decrease. At the same time, construction of warehouse facilities increased from $16.7 billion to $33.8 billion, a 102% increase. It’s a dramatic illustration of the death of brick and mortar retail at the hands of e-commerce and delivery. And to bottom-line it for homebuilding and multifamily property operations, it means the safe and secure reception of deliveries will be an area of growing need and focus moving forward.
There’s no time like the present for you to be exploring applications and ideas for the safe delivery of parcels to homes. It’s important to note that the CDC and the major parcel delivery services assess the chances of contracting COVID-19 from a parcel as very low, so the idea of applying irradiation and other germ-killing technologies seems unnecessary at this time.
