I find this hard to believe, to be honest. The capital costs of the machinery is already such that paying a premium to relocate someone for the duration of the construction is almost certainly not the bottle neck for most construction jobs?
If you have numbers on this, I'm game to see them. Just because I find it hard to believe doesn't mean I think it is impossible.
This report isn't looking at open field construction, though? It literally highlights the most expensive cities to build in. I'm not surprised that it is expensive to keep skilled labor in places where they will be in very high demand.
There are companies (like Kiewit) that specifically hire and pay (a lot more) to incentivize their employees to travel. It's a really really hard job and many people burn out. The travel is brutal.
The worst is that it’s not even semi-permanent move. You go to the site, you work for some months then you need to move to the next. If by accident you have a family then guaranteed they cannot follow you and you will be seeing them only sporadically.
If you have numbers on this, I'm game to see them. Just because I find it hard to believe doesn't mean I think it is impossible.