Geopolitical risks are intensifying and could potentially undermine investor confidence and disrupt capital flows in the early part of the forecast period (2020-2024). Risks to the overall forecast stem primarily from a possible escalation in the trade war between the US and China, as well as inflamed tensions between the US and Iran, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Dariana Tani, Economist at GlobalData, comments: “North America’s construction industry contracted marginally in 2019, but will recover steadily in 2020 supported by ongoing investments in infrastructure developments.

“Construction in the US has been particularly weak due to a dismal performance in the residential buildings sector. Activity in Latin America has also been very weak, and GlobalData now expects the region’s construction output to have grown by just 0.1% in 2019 due to particularly poor performances in Argentina and Mexico, alongside disruption to activity across countries suffering from social unrest.

“A recovery in construction growth in Brazil will help to push up the region’s pace of expansion in 2020, offsetting ongoing weaknesses stemming from political instability.”

Global construction output growth is forecast to edge up to 3.1% in 2020.