The Construction Chart Book, available as a free download, is a valuable resource for product managers and other building product marketing executives. Published by The Center for Construction Research and Training, formerly known as The Center to Protect Workers’ Rights (CPWR), it contains hard to find information about construction industry employment demographics and trends. Amply illustrated with graphs, it also contains good analysis of industry conditions - at least as they were prior to the market crash of 2008.

About half the book focuses on occupational health and safety issues

. This can be a fertile area for identifying potential marketing opportunities. Who know, for example, that 64 percent of carpenters have abnormal hearing (Chart 42b). This is valuable insight not only to tool manufacturers, but also to producers of structural connectors or building systems that might be able to eliminate the need for hammering or cutting - sources of loud jobsite noise.