- FINAL REPORT- NOVA SCOTIA MANUFACTURED HOUSING INDUSTRY STUDY Submitted to ATLANTIC HOME BUILDING AND RENOVATION SECTOR COUNCIL by Thomas McGuire & Christina MacLean Peter Norman, Altus Clayton (formerly Clayton Research) John Jozsa, Jozsa Management & Economics David Sable & Associates May 26, 2008 Contact: Thomas McGuire (902) 431-697 T.M. McGuire Ltd. ● P.O. Box 22151, 7071 Bayers RPO ● Halifax, Nova Scotia ● B3L 4T7 e.
[email protected] ● p. 902.431.6972 Nova Scotia Manufactured Housing Industry Study i Atlantic Home Building and Renovation Sector Council – Final Report/May 26, 2008 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Nationally, the manufactured housing industry represents between 1.5% and 2% of the total residential construction industry in Canada. The sector has grown at an average annual rate of 3.5% during the past decade as is worth some $1.5 billion annually to the Canadian economy. A total of 15,000 single family and 2,000 multi-units are manufactured in Canada each year with 20% destined for export and 80% destined for domestic sale. This study suggested that: Factory built homes presents a significant opportunity to achieve labour productivity gains in the residential construction industry. And Manufactured home building may present the most significant opportunity to overcome labour shortages in the residential construction sector. We suspect that labour market pressures and competing career choices, out migration of youth and other demographic challenges will continue pressure the construction labour market. Combined with the need for productivity gains, we anticipate that manufactured home building will continue to grow and that off- site construction work will provide homebuilders with an option to overcome limited supply of site build workers.