Global accounting and consulting firm Ernst & Young are predicting a weakening US economy if infrastructure maintenance and development spending does not increase.  While E & Y do make money from bond issues and lending associated with such projects the information they gathered in a survey over the past year is above the typical “the bridges are failing” rhetoric often heard about infrastructure spending.  The warning comes from a report to urban planners, real estate developers, investors and architects at the Urban Land Institute in Phoenix, AZ. The ULI and Ernst & Young released the latest results of their global infrastructure survey on Monday of this week. Click here for the report.

One key finding was that US funding is losing out to overseas capital projects.  Information gathered by E & Y indicates institutional investors will be increasing their allocations to infrastructure funding five-fold over the next 15 years.  The majority of this money come from US investors but it is being used in Asia, Europe and Latin America where planning for large projects is moving forward at a faster pace.

Essentially, money if moving to the projects, and the larger, investment-grade, infrastructure projects are happening in other countries.