If the Barclays Skyscraper Index [4], which posits bursts of skyscraper construction are a harbinger of great economic collapse and market crashes, is accurate, then the world is in for a, well, world of pain. And nowhere more so than in China. As Skyscraper Center reports, 2014 saw an all-time high record 97 buildings of 200 meters or more completed with an increasing shift towards Asia (with a stunning 76% of all tall-building construction). For the seventh year in a row, China completed the most (58) skyscrapers... mal-investment boom much?
For the 8th year in a row, North America saw its share of the tallest skyscrapers in the world fall...
[5]
With China dominant...
[6]
As yet another chart represnting consumption and credit goes exponential...
[7]
And here is the dominance of Asia in 2014's builds...
[8]
Which is why if the Barclays Skysraper Index is indeed correct, then China - ignoring all other sirens of an imminent credit bubble implosion - better watch out below.
And the skyscraper-fest has gone fully global in 2015
[9]
