Skanska Downgrades
U.S Construction Outlook
STOCKHOLM—In an earnings call to investors earlier this week, the head of the Swedish-based builder and developer Skanska said that customers in the U.S. have taken longer to decide to invest amid economic uncertainty in the country.
CEO Anders Danielsson shared that the firm had reduced its outlook for U.S. construction — a major driver of the company’s revenue — from strong to stable.
“We still see a pipeline, but we can also see that it takes a little bit longer time for our customers to take the decision to invest and start a project. But it’s stable,” Mr. Danielsson said of U.S. commercial construction.
Other sectors of the company are holding up, he reported. Mr. Danielsson labeled the civil sector in the States as “encouraging,” largely due to continued federal investments in infrastructure. The 12-month outlook for civil work in the U.S. remains strong.
Economic uncertainty has impacted the outlook nonetheless, Mr. Danielsson said, reinforcing that he thinks “it’s not a specific segment or specific clients, it’s more that they feel some uncertainties in the market.” Additionally, he acknowledged that tariffs have contributed to that uncertainty in the U.S., but said the fact that the international firm runs businesses locally in all its markets mitigates those effects.
Some of those question marks for owners thinking about starting projects arise from costs brought on by President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which fluctuated in the period reported by Skanska.
Reprint courtesy ConstructionDive.
Published: May 13, 2025