Revised government data issued recently show the construction industry is contributing substantially to economic and employment growth, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials noted that construction employment in January rose for the eighth consecutive month, while construction spending in December increased for the ninth month in a row. Both totals were the highest levels in more than three years.“The new employment data show the industry lost even more jobs in the recession than previously estimated but has added almost 300,000 jobs in the past two years, including nearly 100,000 since September,” said Ken
Until the developer of Las Vegas' newest attraction—the $300 million SkyVue observation wheel—had filled in the gaps in the project's finances, the contractors' legal bills seemed to be climbing higher than the structure. Photo by Tony Illia SkyVue broke ground in late 2011 along the Las Vegas Strip. Image courtesy SkyVue SkyVue includes a two-story, 200,000-sq-ft base building with two dozen retail shops, restaurants and convention space. Related Links: Caesars to Renovate Las Vegas Strip Property into $185M Boutique Hotel/Casino Now, according to developer Howard Bulloch, his steel observation wheel and retail complex on the Las Vegas Strip across from
Denver's Regional Transportation District General Manager Phil Washington announced Jan. 22 that RTD has identified another item for the FasTracks Internal Savings Account that may allow it to take advantage of favorable debt interest savings. Refinancing a portion of the transit agency’s debt could offer RTD an opportunity to build the North Metro Rail Line to 72nd in Commerce City sooner than expected. Map courtesy of RTD The new debt restructuring plan may allow Denver's RTD to issue a request for proposal to build the North Metro rail line to 72nd Avenue within the next 10 months. Washington said RTD
New construction starts in December climbed 23% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $530 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Cos. The sharp increase for total construction followed two months of lackluster activity, as several very large projects in December helped to lift the pace of contracting. By major sector, substantial gains in December were reported for nonresidential building and nonbuilding construction while housing maintained the steady upward trend that’s been present for much of the past year. For all of 2012, total construction starts grew 6% to $463.6 billion, a moderate yet stronger rate
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index, which had declined in December, fell further in January. The index now stands at 58.6 (1985=100), down from 66.7 in December. The Expectations Index declined to 59.5 from 68.1. The Present Situation Index decreased to 57.3 from 64.6 last month. Consumers’ appraisal of current conditions deteriorated in January. Those claiming business conditions are “good” declined to 16.7% from 17.2%, while those stating business conditions are “bad” increased to 27.4% from 26.3%. Consumers’ assessment of the labor market has also grown more negative. Those saying jobs are “plentiful” declined to 8.6% from 10.8%, while
Business conditions at architecture firms continue to improve. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) reflects the approximate nine- to 12-month lag between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects reported the December ABI score was 52.0, down from the mark of 53.2 in November. This score reflects an increase in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was 59.4, down slightly from the 59.6 mark of the previous month. “While it’s not an across the board recovery, we are hearing
Construction employment increased in 139 out of 337 metropolitan areas between December 2011 and December 2012, declined in 131 and was stagnant in 65, according to a new analysis of federal employment data recently released by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials noted that growing private-sector demand for new construction projects boosted employment in a slight plurality of metro areas. “Private-sector demand for energy, health care, higher education and residential construction is having a positive impact in a growing number of metro areas,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Unfortunately, construction employment in almost as many metro
The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA), which represents the $725-billion equipment finance sector, recently revealed its Top 10 Equipment Acquisition Trends for 2013. Given that every year U.S. businesses, nonprofits and government agencies spend more than $1.2 trillion in capital goods or fixed business investment (including software), financing more than half of those assets, these trends impact a significant portion of the U.S. economy. Businesses considering acquiring equipment this year will consider numerous end-user benefits while weighing continued uncertainty related to economic conditions and fiscal policies.The Top 10 Equipment Acquisition Trends for are as follows.1. Corporate perceptions of the
DOMRESAshley Domres has been promoted to vice president of project development at Linthicum in Phoenix. She will be responsible for corporate marketing and business development, industry relations and community involvement. She previously served as director of Linthicum's Custom Care line, managing the care and maintenance of private Linthicum residences in Arizona, California and Hawaii. Prior to that, she was a project engineer with the company. Domres, a LEED accredited professional, has a bachelor's degree in interior design with a minor in business administration from Seattle Pacific University. Related Links: Southwest People Page ENR Southwest Eli Gilbert has been named
Multifamily construction is booming despite the slow economic recovery for commercial and single-family markets, but it is a very different market than it was 10 years ago. Like other segments of construction, the increasing number of firms in multifamily has driven profit margins down. As a result, bidding errors or unanticipated project costs, which were once part of doing business and could be absorbed within the contract price, can now wipe out all profits on a project and even threaten a company’s overall financial strength. Multifamily’s healthy backlog of work has attracted firms from both residential and commercial backgrounds. The
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