The research indicates that advances in technology, shifts in the construction workforce and increasing global competition are key concerns among industry leaders across Europe and the U.S. The report also emphasizes the driving influence of governance and legislation, environmental pressures, global finance, new procurement methods and the increasing cost of materials. McGraw-Hill Construction's research explores how these trends are shaping the increasingly interconnected construction marketplace.

"Construction activities are becoming increasingly global," states Harvey M. Bernstein, vice president, Industry Analytics, Alliances and Strategic Initiatives at McGraw-Hill Construction. "The financial and building trends in one country are largely impacted by social and political events in other areas of the world. It is important that we understand these trends and how they will impact the work that we do today and in the future."

Other major findings of the report include:

• Emerging and transitioning economies are fast becoming attractive building markets as well as formidable foreign competitors;
• Materials prices are continuing to escalate, placing a growing pressure on project costs and encouraging the shift to alternative materials;
• Construction industry leaders in Europe and the U.S. share concerns about the global workforce shortage, and they expect the situation to worsen in the next 5-7 years;
• The market for green building is significant and growing rapidly in both regions thanks to supportive legislation, market differentiation, and the growing pressure of global competition;
• Usage of BIM (Building Information Modeling) is significant and growing, but there remains a dire need for enhanced awareness about the need for interoperability and the benefits of digital design.

To order a copy of the report, visit http://www.analyticsstore.construction.com.

About McGraw-Hill Construction
McGraw-Hill Construction, part of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP), connects people, projects and products across the design and construction industry. Backed by the power of Dodge, Sweets (sweets.com), Engineering News-Record (enr.com), Architectural Record (architecturalrecord.com/), GreenSource (greensourcemag.com), and Regional Publications, the company provides information, intelligence, tools, applications and resources to help customers grow their business. McGraw-Hill Construction serves more than one million customers within the $4.6 trillion global construction community. For more information, visit http://www.construction.com/.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies
Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP) is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2006 were $6.3 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.