Record copy REMARKS BY E. W. LITTLEFIELD BEFORE THE NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL CONFERENCE BOARD, NEW YORK, MAY 20, 1965_ LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: In discussing the short-term outlook for construction, let us first review some background information and examine some of the forces which guide the industry over the long run. First, we should realize that we are discussing a single industry accounting for 10% of the total gross national product. We are also speaking of an industry which produces a wide variety of products: from the single family residence to the skyscraper; and from the country roadway to the complex mass-transit systems of our cities. The fortunes of the construction industry are not simply those of the home builder and the general contractor, which at times are literally non-existent, but include the fortunes of the architects, building materials suppliers, engineers, equipment manufacturers, and a work force ranked among the nation's highest paid. Since 1960, actual expenditures for new construction have grown at an average rate in excess of 5% per year, reaching a high in 1964 of $66 billion. And for the long run all bets are on the side of continued expansion at perhaps an improved growth rate. At this point an examination of the factors which encourage such optimism is probably in order. As in all industries, mounting birth rates and increased life expectancy causes increased demand for goods and services. The construction industry is no exception. The high birth rates common to