The new year will likely bring considerably more pain to contractors and designers working in the Southeast Construction region, especially as firms focused on a still-declining commercial sector work off their thinning backlogs. Companies fortunate enough to be working in publicly funded markets should start to see some improvement in 2010, however. Related Links: Florida 2010 Outlook Georgia 2010 Outlook North Carolina 2010 Outlook South Carolina 2010 Outlook Southeast Industry Outlook National Outlook 2010 That’s the opinion of McGraw-Hill Construction, publisher of Southeast Construction, in its forecast for the four-state region of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. The
Florida: Residential Rises? The previous year was definitely a stormy one for firms busy in the Sunshine State. McGraw-Hill Construction’s latest estimate for Florida’s 2009 construction activity predicts an 18% overall decline. This is the result of a 27% downturn in the state’s nonresidential projects as well as a 36% further retrenchment in the residential market. Fortunately for Florida firms, the nonbuilding sector buoyed the overall number somewhat, growing by a significant 35% during 2009. Related Links: 2010 Southeast Construction Outlook Georgia 2010 Outlook North Carolina 2010 Outlook South Carolina 2010 Outlook For 2010, McGraw-Hill predicts a 6% overall increase
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After three years of declines, the construction market may be eyeing a rebound in 2010 thanks to a much improved residential sector, but for designers and contractors in other building sectors, it could be too soon to celebrate. McGraw-Hill Construction is forecasting that total construction starts will climb 11% to $466.2 billion in 2010, following an estimated 25% decline in 2009. Photo: Bruce Buckley Robert Murray, vice president of economic affairs for McGraw-Hill Construction, recently delivered the 2010 Outlook. Slide Show Source: McGraw-Hill Construction. This chart shows the percentage increases, and decreases, in the value of new construction starts on
In response to slow domestic sales, Sweden-based Volvo Group’s construction equipment division is winding down its 400,000 sq-ft factory in Asheville, N.C. and shifting production to other plants around the world. Production of wheel loaders will move to Arvika, Sweden; excavators will move to Changwon, South Korea. The plant is scheduled to close on March 31, and the company will lay off 228 employees. Some will be offered relocation to its Shippensburg, Pa., plant, which will also produce motor grader cabs, formerly made in Asheville. The current U.S. market “didn’t justify” having two equipment plants, says Beatrice Cardon, vice president
Miami-Dade County public health officials are investigating whether an activated carbon filtration system at in Miami led to an outbreak of Legionnaires� Disease that killed one man in October and made two people ill in recent weeks. The county health department issued a health advisory on Dec. 11 to residents, guests and employees at the Epic Hotel & Residences, stating that water samples collected from the property’s plumbing system indicated levels of chlorine were insufficient to rid drinking water of bacteria. Samir Elmir, director of the county health department’s environmental health and engineering division, says the activated carbon filter system
Nationwide research is firming up the case for “intelligent” compaction, a construction method three decades in the making that could save billions of dollars a year in potholed roads, cracked bridges, broken dams and blown-out tires. But as it represents a huge cultural shift in project delivery, the industry is struggling to find a standard way to roll it out. IC in its simplest form is an onboard measuring device that shows roller operators whether they are overcompacting, undercompacting or right on target in soil, aggregate and asphalt. Photo courtesy Iowa State University. David White, a professor at Iowa State
In the movie “Any Given Sunday,” Al Pacino plays a football coach who is wise but worn down by life. In a pregame speech he talks about football being a game of inches. Take a few minutes and look at your job site. Can you see where you’re losing money? The “inches” are all around you. “The inches we need are everywhere around us,” goes Pacino’s speech. “They are in every break of the game, every minute, every second. On this team, we fight for that inch.” Your “inches” are dollars. The Pacino monologue is dramatic, but the point is
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