SWAP. Many owners are retiring older units and freshening up. (Photo by Nancy Soulliard for ENR) Machines that contractors buy, rent and lease are in demand again as aging fleets are being supplied with younger reinforcements. Manufacturing is going strong. "Business is better than anyone anticipated," says Craig Paylor, senior vice president of sales, marketing and customer support for JLG Industries Inc., McConnellsburg, Pa. "We are 30% to 40% ahead of last year." Delivery times for most products are 90 to 120 days, he adds. The pickup has prices on the rise. The U.S. Dept. of Labor indicates that overall
(Photo by Guy Lawrence for ENR) Insurers continued to seek higher prices for workers’ compensation policies, driving up rates for construction crafts an average of 2.8% in 2004 so far. Continuing losses mean that insurers will keep the pressure on rates. They would have risen even higher, some believe, were it not for tougher scrutiny of claims that employers and insurers hope will limit payouts. According to an annual report compiled exclusively for ENR by New York City-based insurance broker Marsh USA Inc., rate increases across the U.S. outnumber declines. This year’s survey shows that ironworkers have the most expensive
...is moving in a more positive direction for contractors," says Thomas T. Holsman, executive vice president and CEO of the Associated General Contractors of California, West Sacramento. A wide-ranging reform package enacted in April provides immediate medical care up to $10,000 and authorizes networks of employer-approved medical providers. Other key provisions include independent dispute review and capping temporary disability payments to two years. Backers claim the reforms will save $5 billion to $7 billion annually and carriers are already offering lower quotes, says Holsman. "We believe it may be possible to continue to roll rates back," says Jay Hansen, legislative
(Photo by Guy Lawrence for ENR) Substance abuse continues to plague the construction industry, threatening lives and safety, increasing workers’ compensation insurance premiums and reducing worker productivity. While some unions in the past have embraced drug testing, others have not. But contractors, union leaders and owners now are pushing new programs to make it easier and cheaper to curb substance abuse. The ironworkers’ and electrical workers’ international unions each are finalizing new national programs to create drug and alcohol free work places. Beginning in January, ironworker local unions and contractor members of the Ironworker-Management Progressive Action Cooperative Trust (IMPACT) will
BEFORE AND AFTER. Hard-hit Orange Beach, Ala., and other coastal towns lost motels, condos and tourist attractions. (Photos courtesy of USGS) Even as Florida struggled to recover from a one-two hurricane punch, another monster storm slammed into its Panhandle and Alabama's Gulf Coast on Sept. 16, adding more wind and rain-induced damage that extended up the East Coast. But abating winds, receding floods and the beginning of cleanup, damage assessment and reconstruction still didn't address major concerns for those in the country's most hurricane-prone regions. Predictions of more frequent big storms hitting the U.S. in the next decades could challenge
A construction team plans to open two lanes of the Interstate 10 bridge over Escambia Bay, a crucial east-west route destroyed by Hurricane Ivan, just 24 days after receiving the Sept. 17 contract. The team led by Gilbert Southern Corp., Peachtree, Ga., a division of Peter Kiewit Sons’ Inc., will take from the more damaged eastbound span to reconstruct its western twin. Much of the two-mile twin span bridge washed out due to water upsurge when Ivan came ashore. The center span rises about 55 ft high over the bay for navigational clearance but the approaches average about 10 to
VIEW MORE ARTICLES FROM THIRD QUARTERLY COST REPORT Summary: Inflation Batters Building Costs Equipment: Strong demand hits prices Insurance: Workers’ comp rates climb Labor: Tackling the cost of drug use VIEW EXPANDED COST STATISTICS ENR is now offering more of our unique U.S. construction cost statistics on the web. click here to view more >> A broad-based surge in materials price escalation is ripping through construction industry cost indexes. As a result, annual inflation has risen from 2.3% a year ago to 3.2% in the first quarter, 5.6% in the second quarter and 8.1% currently. This is according to a
(Photo courtesy of US Gypsum) The year began with an explosion in steel prices that reverberated throughout construction. That was followed by aftershocks in lumber, plywood, gypsum wallboard, copper, stainless steel, insulation and concrete products. The rebound in nonresidential construction markets, strong spending on public works and record levels of home building pushed up demand for materials and prices along with it. The resulting higher materials prices propelled inflation in the construction industry from 3% at the beginning of the year to about 10% by September, according to ENR’s building cost index. VIEW RELATED DATA Construction Material Price Movement in
Mark Twain’s fictional Mississippi River rafters, Huckleberry Finn and Jim, would see quite a collection of bridges if they navigated that fabled waterway today. The river awaits landmark new crossings but construction now taking place covers a variety of methods and materials. Many of the river’s 100-plus crossings are reaching the end of their design life and planners along the length of the river are investigating rehabilitation or replacements. Traffic, economic development and seismic retrofits are spurring the recent spate of work. "This is a period when bridge construction is flourishing up and down the river," says Steve Hague, bridge
BOOSTERS. Silverstein, l. to r., at July 4 WTC ceremony, with N. Y. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Childs, N.Y. Gov. George Pataki, Libeskind, Dan Tishman and N. J. Gov. James McGreevey. (Photo above and bottom courtesy of Tishman Construction Corp. of New York) Larry Silverstein owes his life to his fair complexion, his wife of 48 years and two simple words that saved his skin. To resolve an argument three years ago, the 73-year-old developer uttered, "Yes, dear," to his wife Klara. "Those are two words that go a long way," says Silverstein. In the six weeks since he had signed
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