The Tsunami’s Already Here. Wake Up.

You can feel it. Tariffs, interest rates, stalled project starts, reshuffled infrastructure dollars, layoffs coming. Prices are up. Margins are down. Budgets are frozen. AI is rewriting playbooks before most people even get the last one sent.

And yet, in too many yards and boardrooms, it’s still business as usual.

That’s the biggest risk of all.

We’re acting like this is just another slow season. It’s not. This is a fundamental shift. And if you’re waiting for things to “go back to normal,” you’re already behind.

This Industry Doesn’t Break—It Bends

We’ve been here before. Not this exact setup, but we’ve seen the bottom. What’s always saved us? Not some outside fix from a consultant with an overpriced plan.

WE figure it out.

We build the road while we’re driving on it. Over budget? Short on time? Missing trucks, short crews, materials late? We find a way.

But this one’s different.

Because it’s not just about figuring out how to finish this job, it’s about making sure we have jobs to finish.

Grit Is a Start. But It’s Not Enough.

This is a tough statement to write because grit is in my DNA and has been the secret sauce to my finding a way through more times than I care to remember. That said, we can’t outwork macroeconomic pressure and a humanity-changing tech shift. One is tough. Together? We’re gonna get punched in the face if we don’t acknowledge what’s coming and prepare.

So what DO we do?

We stop pretending grit alone is the strategy. We get real about what it takes to survive this cycle…and the next. We protect margin like it’s oxygen and stop pretending we can carry it all alone. We hold out our hands—to our teams, to our associations, to the right partners building solutions that help instead of just cashing in. We set aside our pride and ask for what we need. Because we do need it. And that’s not weakness, that’s the true grit we need at this moment. 

Relationships Aren’t Soft. They’re Steel.

Anyone who thinks this industry runs on asphalt and aggregate doesn’t get it. It runs on favors. On returned calls. On people who show up when they don’t have to. On relationships that last longer than the concrete.

That’s the infrastructure that matters when the market tightens. The supplier who gives you terms because they know you pay. The GC who lets you rebid because you were straight with them last time. The foreman who tells you the truth, not what you want to hear.

If you don’t have those? You’re not IN construction. You’re just passing through.

It’s Going to Take Rebuilding

We all love to say we’re tough. But toughness without adaptation is just stubbornness. And stubborn gets crushed in a downturn.

We’re going to have to reconsider how we price, partner, and plan.

We’re going to have to restructure how we run jobs, make decisions, and adopt tech that actually supports, not disrupts, our people.

We’re going to have to be resilient, not just in output but in mindset.

This isn’t a pep talk. It’s a wake-up call.

We’re Not Rivals. We’re On The Same Crew.

The public sees roads and bridges. What they don’t see is the human scaffolding holding it all up. And right now, that scaffolding needs reinforcement.

So yeah, we’ll still compete. But when the market shakes like this, it’s about making sure there’s work left for all of us.

That means less ego. More collaboration. Less territorial thinking. More trust.

We’re not going to get through this by going it alone.

We get through this by remembering the only people who actually understand what we do—are each other.

‍

About the Author

Rachael Mahoney is the Chief Strategy Officer at Bulk Exchange. With extensive experience in the construction and technology sectors, she is passionate about driving innovation and fostering sustainable growth in the heavy civil construction industry. Follow Rachael on LinkedIn for more insights.

‍