An American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)‘s
WEB CONFERENCE provided a high-level overview
of recent research that projects the toll of inaction
if infrastructure investment levels
remain status quo over the next 20 years.
Click to go to FULL REPORT Online PDF
This report is particularly timely given the ongoing discussion in Congress and in the administration about robust and sustained investment in our nation’s infrastructure. The research informs the association’s “Failure to Act” public affairs report series, while also setting the stage for the latest “Report Card for America’s Infrastructure”, which was released March 4, 2021. For the REPORT CARD, please see adjacent ISCP article from the home page, and/or click on link at the bottom of this article.
Emily Feenstra, Managing Director of Government Relations and Infrastructure Initiatives–ASCE, moderated the web conference and presented details about the upcoming release of the report card.
Steven Landau, Executive Vice President-EBP US, presented research methodology, describing the three pillars of the research that are used in the five “Failure to Act Reports”, released beginning of 2020 and continues in 2021. The research is based on data gathering, economic research, and economic modeling, he said.
Greg DiLoreto, Chair Emeritus–Committee on America’s Infrastructure, presented the key points of the research report. He described how economic factors and other dynamics have changed and will continue to change if investment levels remain the same.
He said, “For the next 20 years, the average American household will spend $3,300 per year due to infrastructure deficiencies, [examples being] sitting in traffic, hitting a pothole, power outages, and water main breaks.” The average American household currently loses $63 per week due to chronic underinvestment—roughly the equivalent of a takeout dinner for four every week for a year (avg. $3,276/year).
Losses will continue on a larger scale, too, he warned. About 47 of the projected jobs lost in 2039 (in 20 years) will be in high wage, high-production jobs such as manufacturing and healthcare. DiLoreto added, “Of the total economic impacts projected in the 20-year study, more than 3/4 will occur between 2030 and 2039.”
He said people in the U.S. are already paying the price for underinvestment in infrastructure adding, “But if we fail to act, our costs will mount.”
REPORT Fig 2: Click to enlarge:
Projected Funding by Infrastructure Category as %-total needs
If we maintain the status quo, for the period of 2030 through 2039, it can be expected to occur that:
• About 80% of gross output losses
• 79% of GDP declines
• 78% of disposable income losses
Amounts to a loss of $10.3 trillion in GDP, including $2.4 trillion in exports, he said, adding that without adequate infrastructure investment, US trade deficit will grow by $626 billion.
“We’ll lose 3 million jobs by 2039—roughly two times the number of Walmart employees in the US!” he said.
REPORT Photo: Click to enlarge
This report is particularly timely given the ongoing discussion in Congress and in the administration about robust and sustained investment in our nation’s infrastructure.
For the final, comprehensive “Failure to Act” REPORT, please click on cover image at top of article, or go to: www.infrastructurereportcard.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/FTA_Econ_Impacts_Status_Quo-1.pdf
For the ISCP article adjacent to this article titled ‘ASCE: 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure: Grade Surpasses D—1st time in 20 Years‘, please go to: https://www.concretepavements.org/2021/03/05/asce-2021-report-card-for-americas-infrastructure-grade-surpasses-d-1st-time-in-20-years/
For the ASCE LINKS, please go to:
ASCE WEBSITE: www.asce.org
“Failure to Act” PAGE: https://infrastructurereportcard.org/resources/failure-to-act-economic-reports/
REPORT CARD FOR AMERICA’S INFRASTRUCTURE 2021: March 4, 2021: https://mcusercontent.com/752674d5111a09c74d85fe0e7/files/856ed3be-62cb-4142-8500-4466ce2ba2df/2021_IRC_Executive_Summary_smaller_file_sz.pdf
ASCE Infrastructure PAGE, plus VIDEO: https://infrastructurereportcard.org