Dive summary:

• Taking a bird's-eye look at the U.S. construction industry, Associated General Contractors Chief Economist Ken Simonson sees three economic powers contributing to growth – housing, shale gas and the Panama Canal.
• The housing engine has been revving up, with multifamily growing even faster than the widely reported recovery in single-family building, and Simonson sees multifamily staying strong through 2014 and single-family growing but perhaps slowing by the end of this year as buyers bump up against tight credit and rising prices.
• The Panama Canal factor is because the expanded canal will allow modern freighters to access East Coast ports from Asia, and there will be demand for expanded facilities.

From the article:

Construction spendiFrng totaled about $854 billion in 2012, a 10% increase from 2011, but 27% below the peak year of 2006. ...