07/20/2021

Message from Beth -- July 21, 2021

Optimistic Economic Outlook for State of Ohio

The State of Ohio ended Fiscal Year 2021 on June 30^th with $1.5 billion more in tax revenue than originally expected. The Office of Budget and Management recently released the monthly financial report, sharing state tax receipts came in above estimates by $367 million in June.

“The variance comes from a variety of factors, including booming sales tax revenues due to changing consumer behavior and federal pandemic stimulus efforts,” OBM Director Murnieks said.* Ohio’s GDP rose in line with the national average, 6.4% during the first quarter of 2021 and the economy continues to show signs of expansion. 

The Ohio Turnpike showed an increase in commercial vehicle miles traveled by 15.3% in June 2021 equating to revenues being 26.2 % higher than June 2020.  The Ohio Department of Transportation user fee revenues were budgeted at a 10% reduction each month in FY 21. The reporting of these revenues lag three months, in April 2021 user fee revenue was only down 4% trending in the right direction.

Quarter 2 Private Industry Report:

A must read, ACEC just released the Q2 2021 Private Industry Brief outlining 5 Macrotrends, key indicators, and forecasted design and construction spending by market.  Also featured is an analysis of the booming single-family housing market and critical tracking of economic recovery.

Total A/E revenues are beginning to rise with preliminary estimates for Quarter 1 2021 at $85.6 billion, a 7.8% increase from Quarter 4 2020. Nearly every market is expected to see growth over the coming years with largest growth expected in the communication, water/wastewater, and transportation markets.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

~Beth

*Source Gongwer News