A lot of noteworthy movement in the modular building market this year meant that the headlines really started stacking up.

The year began with a National Institute of Building Sciences survey in which most contractors responding said they use offsite construction techniques. Those contractors agreed, however, that there were a number of obstacles that prevent them from delivering more of their projects through the modular business model. 

McKinsey Global Institute later released a comprehensive, eye-opening report about modular building that drew a line in the sand. "[Industry leaders] are either optimistic about the future of modular or they are really worried that modular companies are going to eat their cake," partner Jan Mischke told Construction Dive.

Meanwhile, major hotel brands made news by going modular with their approach. Hilton, Marriott and more grabbed the attention of contractors — those that wanted to sign contracts, such as Prescient and Skender, and those that started shaking in their steel-toe boots that they'll soon be losing market share if they can't meet the efficiency demands of heavyweight clients.

That is, if they can't find ways to deliver projects up to 50% faster, as McKinsey found that modular can do, if modular is done right. 

And over the course of the year, the firms that are doing it right really came to light. Most notably, Construction Dive spoke with observers and participants in the industry to identify one name that stood out even more than others, our Modular Builder of the Year, Skender.

Our profile of the firm wrapped the year up right around the time we dropped the first edition of our Modular Monitor column, which aims to grasp on to this changing force in the industry and help you anticipate what to expect next.