Currie & Brown: How Global Volatility Hits Construction

As global uncertainty becomes the norm, leaders across countless industries are witnessing dramatic impacts on their organisations. 

Currie & Brown, a construction and cost management consultancy, has conducted research into construction pipelines.

Its new report, Building certainty in an era of relentless change, examines issues faced by construction teams around the world, providing a baseline for its Construction Certainty Index. 

Construction specialists

Currie & Brown is a world-leader in cost-management, project management and advisory services. The company manages risk, controls cost and oversees the the entire lifecycle from early strategy to project delivery.

Through a global team, based in more than 70 offices around the world, it helps businesses face commercial pressures and local regulations.

Currie & Brown's latest research surveyed more than 1,000 global decision-makers and explores the challenges construction companies are dealing with as a result of persistent geopolitical volatility. 

It also offers an evidence-based tool to track delivery confidence and creates plans for change within the industry.

Dr Alan Manuel, CEO at Currie & Brown, says: "Construction is fundamental to global economic growth. Yet, as disruption accelerates, our collective ability to deliver reliably and confidently is being eroded."

Construction risks

The construction industry continues to battle the impacts of inflation, geopolitical conflict, climate change and constant technological change.

The interconnectivity of supply chains and industries means policy changes in one country can affect construction in another. 

Internally, outdated procurement systems mean that, when volatility hits, companies cannot stay agile or build resilient supply chains. Moreover, a lack of clear leadership can lead to systemic issues.

Firms are also being impacted by external issues such as increasing costs, political risk, trade route disruption and weather events. 

When asked about impacts on project delivery, 73% of respondents cited material cost inflation as having a high impact.

Other risk factors include:

• Energy price volatility - 65%
• Supply chain disruption - 62%
• Labour and skills shortage - 61%
• Rapid technological innovation cost inflation - 56%
• Planning and regulatory challenges - 55%
• Economic policy changes - 55%
• Borrowing costs - 52%
• Geopolitical uncertainty - 51%
• Climate and environmental risks - 49%

Alan continues: "Persistent uncertainty is the new normal in construction. Much of it is driven by external forces such as rising costs and political shifts. But systemic issues are critical too. Outdated procurement, misaligned objectives and incomplete designs continue to embed risk.

"We must address these challenges or the disruption will escalate. And that's not acceptable. Construction underpins economies and improves lives. This industry is too important to fall behind."

The wider impact

With projects being delayed, descoped or cancelled, major financial losses are hitting the world of construction.

On average, nearly a third of projects have been put on pause or prevented from launching in the last year, according to respondents. 

"US$2.5tn – that is the estimated value of global construction work lost to uncertainty in 2025," Alan continues. "This is a systemic issue. And one we can’t afford to ignore.

"Supply chain shocks, economic volatility, labour shortages, regulatory inertia and climate risks are no longer isolated events. Together, they turn construction projects into strategic gambles.

"When these pressures go unaddressed, the result is: lost opportunity, stalled investment, a growing threat to global delivery and to economic and social progress." 

According to the report, the money lost is enough to fund up to 40 high schools and two larger hospitals, or enough to build up to 500 new airports.

To put it on a different scale, it is almost twice the combined annual revenue of Apple, Amazon and Microsoft, and more than the entire GDP of Italy.

Areas for growth

Currie & Brown lays out several areas warranting urgent transformation, but recognises that change doesn't come from businesses alone. 

Government: Governments need to incentivise innovation, provide pipeline visibility, make procurement processes easier by removing red tape and set up procurement structures which encourage valuable collaboration.

Clients: Clients must create measurable outcomes across the whole of the lifecycle, engage with the right expertise from the start of the projects and create partnerships with its suppliers to drive better value throughout the project.

Industry: Collaboration is key to success, particularly in these times. Teams need to be upskilled using collaborative planning with an embracing of digital methods like AI and other new technologies. By welcoming modernisation, companies can react to changes better with more risk assessment embedded within.