...market was steady, but because we grew in our services business and in homeland security," he says.

Regionally, the Southeast U.S. market is holding strong, especially along the Gulf coast from Mobile, Ala., to Panama City, Fla., according to Rob Grosze, vice president of Masonry Arts. But hurricane impacts have added some uncertainty to the market. Insurance companies are having a hard time settling claims, which could delay rebuilding to the middle of next year, Grosze says. "The next six months will be spent just trying to get the infrastructure back open," he says.

Price-Driven

Among interiors contractors, union firms are finding it tougher to pit the skill and experience of their workers against nonunion price-driven competitors. "The market is a little better than in previous years but not what it should be," says Vincent Sandusky, CEO of the Finishing Contractors Association, Vienna, Va. "There are fewer projects that are guaranteed union."

FCA is placing greater emphasis on helping members boost quality and productivity, Sandusky says. The group is working with the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades to tie raises to training, particularly on safety. FCA and IUPAT have a pilot program in Illinois tying pay incentives to training hours and safe work hours, he says.

(Photo by Tudor Hampton for ENR)

With the price of scrap steel so high, demolition contractors also in the recycling business are having a boom year. "The biggest trend in the industry is the continuing move toward recycling. I like to call it ‘green demolition,’" says Leonard Cherry of Cherry Demolition. "In order to secure work, you have to be able to recycle. And it’s cost-effective."

The real problem is the disconnect between society’s enthusiasm for recycling and regulatory roadblocks faced by recycling operators. "It’s David versus Goliath," claims Cherry. "Recyclers are generally small, family-owned operations, but states are placing huge regulatory burdens on them."

Commercial and industrial recycling markets are showing a normal work flow, says Mike Taylor, executive director of the National Demolition Association, Doylestown, Pa., which just changed its name from the National Association of Demolition Contractors to reflect a wider array of membership.

Brownfield projects are coming on line now after years of delay. "Overall, the market seems to be growing at a steady 4 to 5% rate," says Taylor. "I don’t think we could take it if it went up to 12%, as it was in the 1990s."