METHODOLOGY
CDR products are derived from a wide variety of sources. The data is then analyzed by our expert staff before being presented to you in the custom formats that suit your needs.
Sources include:
- All permit types applicable/available from local and state permitting agencies (spreadsheets, webpage searches, hand-written permits, etc).
- Project advertisements.
- Federal databases.
- Calls to general contractors.
- Calls to government agencies.
Here’s how the data moves from all these sources through CDR and then to you:
There are various ways to study a construction market, but no other method can provide CDR’s fully comprehensive, cost effective results.
Top-down research methods take state and national statistics and factor them down, but can only approximate local conditions. Meanwhile, statistical sampling cannot provide a true picture of your local market without being deployed at a level that is prohibitively expensive for most organizations.
| Laborer Counts | Trade (Electrical) Permits Only | Statistical Sampling (Phone and Other Surveys) | Other Top-Down Derivations (Census Bureau’s CPIP, etc) |  |
|
| Continuous Improvement Support | X | ||||
| Project-by-Project Details | X | ||||
| Track Competitors’ Behavior | X | ||||
| Track Customers’ Behavior | X | ||||
| Accurate Project $ Estimates | X | ||||
| Timely Data | X | ||||
| Timely Results | X | ||||
| Raw Data Usable for Market Recovery | X | ||||
| Track Contractors Entering Market | X | ||||
| Accurate Overall $ Estimates | X | X | |||
| Market Sectors (detailed) | X | X | |||
| Market Sectors (hi-level) | X | X | X | X | |
| Share: % Union $ | X | X | X | X | |
| Share: % Union Jobs | X | X | X | ||
| Seen as Unbiased | X | X | X | ||
| Consistent | X | X | X | ||
| Unpermitted Work (e.g., Federal)? | X | X | X | ||
| Share: % Union Hours | X |