The first quarter is behind us, bid season is in full swing, and we can see the shape of the year across all four states we frame in. The short version: demand is steady but uneven — senior living and workforce housing are carrying Minnesota, Fargo keeps building, western Wisconsin is quietly busy, and Montana is still worth putting a travel crew on the road for. Here's what we're seeing in our own bid volume, state by state.
Minnesota: senior living carries the load
Market-rate apartment starts in the Twin Cities core are still slower than the boom years, but the work hasn't disappeared — it has moved. Exurban and greater-Minnesota multi-family is bidding steadily, and senior living is the strongest single product type crossing our desk. Projects like our senior living work in Rogers are typical of what's moving: wood-framed, three to four stories, suburban sites, experienced developers building the same product repeatedly. The St. Cloud corridor and central Minnesota towns are also producing consistent 20-to-60-unit projects that bigger framers ignore.
North Dakota: Fargo keeps its head down and builds
Fargo–West Fargo–Moorhead remains the most consistent multi-family market in our footprint relative to its size. Land is available, approvals are fast, and developers there build through cycles instead of trying to time them. We're also seeing workforce housing and hotel bid activity in the western part of the state track energy employment. The practical note for ND: the build calendar is short and everyone knows it, so framing slots for late-summer starts are already filling.
Wisconsin: the I-94 corridor spillover is real
Hudson, River Falls, New Richmond, and on toward Eau Claire — Twin Cities growth keeps pushing east across the river, and framing demand is following it. Mostly garden-style and three-story walkup product, plus steady hotel and commercial work along the interstate. It's not a headline market, but it's dependable, and it's an easy reach for our crews.
Montana: still travel-crew territory
Montana's growth towns are still short on framing labor relative to what's being permitted, which is exactly why we run travel crews out there. Hotels and multi-family are the bulk of it. The math only works when the project is big enough to justify per-diem and lodging, so we're selective — but the demand is real and owners know local capacity can't cover it.
Labor and lumber
Two things haven't changed. Framing labor is still the binding constraint everywhere — crews, not lumber, set the schedule in every one of these markets. And while commodity lumber has been calmer than the wild swings of a few years back, engineered wood lead times still deserve respect: get your LVL and I-joist packages bought early on anything starting this fall. Our commercial framing cost guide breaks down where the money actually goes.
What this means if you're a GC or developer
- Lock framing early for Q3 and Q4 starts. The good crews in every one of these markets are committing their fall right now.
- Bid realistic durations. A framer who promises an impossible schedule to win the job will hand it back to you in delays.
- Get numbers early. Even at concept stage, a framing number tightens a pro forma. Our ballpark calculator will get you in the neighborhood in a few minutes.
Have a project bidding anywhere in MN, ND, WI, or MT this year? Send us the plans — we'll turn a quote around fast.