July 23, 2014

2014 Rising Giants: Growth


A key factor in the income surge: square footage. The total number of jobs has risen, to 15,229 from 13,153. A bigger marker is the sheer size of those jobs. Total square footage skyrocketed 51 percent, from 135 million to 205 million. Firms aren’t getting the same dollars per square foot, however. We’ve seen drops for three years straight, $98 to $91 and now to $85. It should be interesting to see if that continues with the forecast of a whopping 244 million square feet from 16,000 jobs.


Here’s another big number: $10.9 billion. That’s the total for furniture, fixtures, and construction materials, up 14 percent. The Rising Giants predict $12.6 billion for the following year.


Growth and optimism are truly the operative words, with 49 percent of responding firms reporting growth and only 32 percent of responding firms reporting no growth or a contraction. And it’s nearly unanimous: 95 percent of responding Rising Giants are optimistic about their firm’s business and the economy overall. Of course, you’re free to choose your own words to describe the climate.

RD Jones & Associates principal Bernard Holnaider has some pretty good ones: “We’re swamped!”




Giants Growth Charts




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2014 Rising Giants 1-100: Market Segment Report


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