1/ Big construction projects in America have slowed in many cases. The Empire State building took 1 year, 45 days to build back in 1930. Later skyscrapers in America have taken multiples of more time to build in spite of large advances in technology. https://www.cnn.com/2013/07/11/us/empire-state-building-fast-facts/index.html

2/ Starting in 1970 the Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) took 3 years to build. https://www.willistower.com/history-and-facts

3/ Starting in 2006 One World Trade Center took over 8 years from beginning of construction to opening. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_World_Trade_Center

4/ Nuclear power plants also to build. Ditto some big public infrastructure projects. Meanwhile, in factories automation continues to deliver improvements in speed and labor savings. What's wrong with incentives and competencies to cause this?

5/ By contrast, in China a 57 floor skyscraper was built in two short spurts in 2014 and 2015. The construction company spent 4 months prefabricating parts. Given lower floor count and prefab time it is similar to the Empire State Building speed. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/30/chinese-construction-firm-erects-57-storey-skyscraper-in-19-days

6/ Whatever is broken about construction in America should be fixed. What are the causes?

But not all skyscraper construction in China is fast. Shanghai Tower, started in 2008 and 128 stories, took about 6 years to build. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Tower