2023 Permanent Modular Construction Annual Report

The permanent modular construction (PMC) industry topped $12 billion in North America in 2022, accounting for 6.03 percent of all new construction starts. This continued market share growth is impressive, considering it has nearly tripled since 2015, when market share was 2.14 percent.

The reasons for continued growth are numerous, including cost and schedule predictability and savings, environmental advantages, and worker safety, all of which are detailed in this report.

MBI gathers data from this report from two primary sources:

1. Direct financial and production data from modular manufacturers
2. Project data from case studies submitted to the Modular Building Institute (MBI)

MBI estimates that there are 255 modular manufacturing companies in North America generating some portion of revenue from the commercial
modular industry. This figure does not include modular factories that generate no revenue from the commercial sector (i.e., revenue derived exclusively from the single-family modular home and/or manufactured housing sectors).

In 2022, 24 modular manufacturers reported total production of 8,123,554 square feet, for an average of 338,481 square feet each. MBI estimates the projects utilizing modular construction accounted for approximately 6.14 percent of the total square footage for new construction in 2022.

MBI also analyzed 62 modular projects completed in 2022. The average size for projects completed was 24,057 square feet, consisting of an average of 37 modules each. The average time to complete each project from approval to occupancy was just 309 days, while the average total cost of these projects was $6,708,142, for an average cost per square foot of $278.84.

For the third year in a row, the multifamily sector was the largest market for the modular industry, accounting for about one-third of all factory output. Other key markets include office and administrative, institutional and assembly, and education.

Using these averages provided by the MBI survey and manufacturers’ input of data, it is possible to estimate certain information about the industry as a whole. While the calculated information is reliable only to the extent the data provided by industry participants is accurate, MBI’s data comes directly from its modular manufacturer members and represents the most comprehensive and accurate industry information available in North America.