Construction company leaders and industry groups expressed optimism and some concerns following Donald Trump’s election victory this week.

The prospect of a more favorable regulatory environment has led to many positive reactions.

“We stand ready to work with the new administration and Congress to help craft an agenda focused on easing regulatory hurdles that unnecessarily delay infrastructure and economic development projects across the country; continue to invest in improving infrastructure; “To that end, we are eager to work with the president-elect as he and his team shape their economic and regulatory agenda,” Jeffrey Shoaf, CEO of Associated General Contractors of America, said in a statement to Construction Dive.

Michael Bellaman, CEO of Associated Builders and Contractors, said Trump’s commitment to supporting free enterprise and workforce development gives the construction employers trade group confidence that construction growth will continue.

“This is an exciting day for our industry,” said Bellaman, whose organization advocates merit-based participation in public contracts in place of union workforce requirements. in a statement. “We are confident that the construction industry will thrive and all workers will be given the opportunity to build America with fewer obstacles.”

Ron Tutor, CEO and president of Los Angeles-based heavy construction contractor Tutor Perini, said Wednesday in the firm’s third-quarter earnings release that he was pleased with the election results.

“I’m happy Trump won and destroyed Kamala Harris,” Tutor said. “I’ve always thought Trump was good for business, and since his background is construction I can’t imagine him being anything but positive.”

Infrastructure view

While Skanska Acting CFO Pontus Winqvist told Construction Dive that the company is “fairly neutral” on the election results for now. He said the key factors contributing to the Swedish firm’s business in the United States will not change when Trump returns to the Oval Office. A Republican president would almost certainly mean lower taxes for businesses, which would benefit the firm’s bottom line, he noted.

“The infrastructure bill continues to be there. Many investments will continue to be made in infrastructure. It’s also in the large building segment with data centers,” Winqvist said.

National Association of Service Contractors emphasized the urgency meeting infrastructure needsespecially in water systems, roads and energy projects.

“America’s infrastructure problems are neutral. A leaky water main or Americans NUCA CEO Doug Carlson said in a statement that the lack of clean water is everyone’s concern. “Americans trust Congress to responsibly deliver the billions of dollars in construction for the roads, bridges, energy and broadband infrastructure our nation needs.”

Some caveats

Despite the congratulatory comments, some industry experts warned that not all potential changes from Trump’s second administration would boost construction activity. For example, new tariffs on imported materials could lead to higher costs, said Michael Guckes, chief economist at ConstructConnect.

“Some proposed policies risk triggering higher construction costs,” Guckes said. “New tariffs on imported construction goods, which will increase the prices of these goods, could lead to a second period of construction inflation.”

Similarly, stricter immigration policies would likely worsen ongoing labor shortages in the construction industry, Guckes said. Chris Gower, CEO of Edmonton, Alberta-based contractor PCL Construction, which has its U.S. headquarters in Denver, said his firm is closely watching how these potential policy changes play out.

“The things Trump will do and promises to do can hurt us and help us,” Gower said. “Not knowing how these plans will play out today, I’m not sure if they’re neutral, positive or negative. “We are looking at the incident from various fronts and monitoring in more detail how it will affect us.”