From the fabricator: The good and the bad

Does anyone really know what is happening with the economic state of commercial construction? I think for most people out and about, they will tell you the state is miserable to weak, but seemingly once every few weeks a report comes out that sings the praises of health and growth. (And yes I know there are various reports that say things are terrible too, but the “good” reports are what are baffling.) So what is it? Personally I think it’s both… yes both… I believe that the economy on our side is very weak. I also do see signs of life, but those signs are minimized by the overcapacity in our world. And overcapacity has led to pricing erosion that has never been seen before. So any bright spots are getting minimized, at least until the herd gets thinned out there, and quite frankly you wonder if that will happen. So until then, everyone keeps plugging along, and all of those positive reports get to be taken with a gigantic grain of salt.