What the heck happened to the US modular housing industry being the model everyone else in the world emulated? Did our industry just get old and stagnant while the other children started to change the rules?
Not counting the manufactured housing industry where each of the big players have lots of factories across the US, the modular industry only has a couple with more than one.
Legacy modular factories seem content to only have one factory and the new, mostly automated factories are still working to get everything in proper order before they look for tens of millions of dollars from investors for a second factory.
We have the most ass-backward building approval system of any country in the world. Building codes change by state, by county, and by local zoning and code. It also is different by which year’s code a state adopts.
Transporting modules from one state to another and even within a state is a confusing mess. Has anyone here ever shipped through Connecticut?
Countries like Sweden and Japan are significantly more advanced than us on the modular and prefab front. They have adopted off-site construction to tackle their housing crisis with amazing results.
In Sweden, 84% of the country’s residential construction market share is prefabricated in the shop and then assembled on-site. The country is widely regarded as the global leader in off-site modular construction.
A country-wide, performance-based code has been adopted in Sweden that makes it easier for factories to build homes. The new rules mean the specs are the same for every municipality. They can choose whatever structural system makes sense for their operation, as long as it passes a code check.
Lindbäcks Bygg has invested in automation and cutting-edge technology and assembly line robotics to produce over 25,000 sq. ft of turnkey housing per week. Lumber company Derome also changed its business model to efficiently produce prefabricated building components.
In Japan, meanwhile, about 15% of the country’s new homes are now manufactured off-site. Poland, a recent arrival on the scene, now builds and ships units to hotel developments in other countries.
Sekisui Hiems, one of the largest prefabricated manufacturers in the world, operates many factories across the country, building 14,000 new homes each year — on assembly lines much like car manufacturing.
Looking at what other countries are doing will both surprise and probably upset you at the same time.
We can do better but the questions we should be asking are When and How!!!
Gary Fleisher is the Editor in Chief of Modular Home Source and Offsite Builder magazine. Email at [email protected]
Gary Fleisher, the Modcoach
To learn more about the Offsite Construction Industry, sign up for your free monthly issue of Offsite Builder, the Construction Magazine for Builders and Developers
