We're in a housing crisis. Freddie Mac estimates that the U.S. requires 2.5 million additional homes to meet demand, and most of this is in the affordable housing space.
While the costs of traditional construction and time to build are skyrocketing, the combination of cold-formed steel (CFS) and modular construction are now being used successfully to meet demand.
Why?
The structural integrity of CFS easily allows for multi-level housing units to be built in almost half of the time needed for on-site wood structures and with 2/3 less skilled labor. Add in the dramatic reduction of waste material, and it's clear why factory-built modular construction with CFS offers a viable path to closing the current housing gap.
In an article written by BuildSteel, Tom Hardiman, the Executive Director at the Modular Building Institute agrees.
“I think in eight years, contractors and owners that are not embracing modular and off-site fabrication (prefabrication) as a significant portion of their business model are going to struggle to survive,” says Hardiman.
“By 2025, if a large contractor hasn’t embraced off-site construction for at least 25% of their workload, I wouldn’t expect that company to be in business by 2030,” Hardiman adds. “And if it’s a multifamily contractor, that figure needs to be closer to 50% to 75%.”
Where do you see your business in the next 5-10 years?