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WiNTER EDiTiON • 2014 2 N E W S L E T T E R © 2013 Bellcomb, Inc. | Bellcomb, Inc. 5001 Boone Avenue N., Minneapolis, MN 55428 There's something appealing about purpose and function at a fraction of the cost. Bellcomb Future Panels ™ are light weight, reusable and easy to install—bringing convenience and technology together without the hassle and mess of traditional drywall. Contact us to get a hands-on experience with our Future Panels ™ and to discuss how we can help you with your unique needs. Futurepanels@bellcomb.com | www.bellcomb.com 763.210.1530 Style and function in just 30 minutes. S T O R E F O R W A R D > government on average, many states have simply lacked the conviction and confdence necessary to aggressively move forward with capital spending, including in the education and public fnance categories. Some state and local governments, however, have raised revenues to support capital spending, including additional taxes on gasoline or raising fees charged for services. The recently passed federal budget may also allow state and local government budgeters to more aggressively commit to capital expenditures. In terms of the industry forecast, certain private categories are set to expand meaningfully during the year ahead, including healthcare (utilization will be on the rise), power (a consistently strong segment in recent years), commercial (the result of protracted periods of consumer spending growth), and lodging (hotel occupancy continues to rise). Manufacturing-related construction is also likely to rise, particularly given expected growth in exports this year given the anticipated strengthening of the global economy. Industrial production in America has been expanding for a number of years, driven in part by growing domestic production of both oil and natural gas. Not surprisingly, the economic outlook is most optimistic in regions of the country that represent the vanguard of America's energy production renaissance, including Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and North Dakota. The reemergence of the U.S. auto industry has also begun to signifcantly and positively impact a number of regional economies, including Michigan, Indiana, and Tennessee. The recovery of the nation's housing market has also begun to support more economic growth, including in Florida, California, Arizona, and Nevada. We predict that the U.S. economy will grow between 2 and 3 percent in 2014 and that non- residential construction spending will expand in the high single-digits. Anirban Basu is Chairman & Chief Executive Offcer at Sage Policy Group, Inc., an economic and policy consulting frm in Baltimore, MD. Mr. Basu consults on behalf of numerous clients, including prominent developers, bankers, brokerage houses, energy suppliers and law frms. He will be presenting at the RCA 2014 Annual Meeting on Saturday, March 8, with a focus on the associated sources of opportunity in 2014 and the myriad threats to the most optimistic forecast supplied in several years. The reemergence of the U.S. auto industry has also begun to signifcantly and positively impact a number of regional economies, including in Michigan, Indiana and Tennessee. CCR_R1-R8.indd 2 2/7/14 1:01 PM