Inflation overseas in 2002 proved more stubborn than many estimators thought it would be. A year ago, fear of a deep recession in the U.S. led many to believe that inflation would fall dramatically. That didn't happen, but worldwide construction inflation weakened for the second consecutive year and should decline again in 2003, according to a forecast by Gardiner & Theobald Inc. In its eleventh annual survey of international construction costs, conducted exclusively for ENR, the London-based international project and cost management firm reports that construction inflation averaged 3.2% for 22 nations in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. This
(Photo by Michael Goodman for ENR) Economists are predicting that overall construction in 2002 will be close to last year's record volume and with a little bit of luck it could even eke out a small gain. But while volume is near its peak, the selling price of construction is more reminiscent of a recession. The steep falloff in several private nonresidential building markets has contractors migrating to where the work is and cutting their margins to get it. "Competition is intense and it is driving prices down, especially for electrical and mechanical work," says Paul Nash, director of cost
By most measures, the Charleston, S.C., school construction program is a resounding success. Two years ago the district adopted "big project" protocols for its growing $365-million building program and hired a 27-year ex-Navy construction chief to run it. William H. Lewis brought with him the military's "toolbox" of alternative contracting methods that includes prequalification of bidders on difficult or time-sensitive projects and use of large program and construction managers. The district's jobs are coming in on time and within budget. "It's been such a positive thing for this community," he says. MARKET SHIFTER School building chief Lewis says firms must
Buy what you use and use what you buy. This sounds like a pretty simple and sound policy, but it is tough to execute when it comes to software. AUDITS Lockwood Greene's Christine Mann reduces tech costs with asset management. Purchasing the right amount of software licenses to meet a firm's needs is a challenge. Many buy a volume license or too many seats, when they could operate as well with much less. At the same time, firms often discover that their PCs are sprouting mismatched program versions, or pirated copyrighted materials and unlicensed software whose presence can expose them
Several systems designed to piggyback high-speed data transmissions over power lines are in field trials around the country and, paradoxically, if they are successful they could breathe new life into the fiber-optic cable market. Electric utility companies in Alabama, Georgia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and elsewhere have trial installations with clusters of Internet users receiving their e-mail and surfing the Web over power lines coming into their homes and offices. Their modems don't plug into cable devices, telephone jacks or satellite dishes; they plug into any wall outlet at hand. Power line modems for consumers, designed to turn household
A Special Report by Engineering News-Record and Power Magazines What a difference six months makes. Powerplant contractors are being choosier about what terms they will work under and on many projects are sharing the risks of cost overruns with owners through target prices. A half-year ago such risk-sharing was rare and in most cases unimaginable. To be sure, the "totally wrapped" project–where all risks are assigned to an engineer-procure-construct company–remains the most common contractual form and isn't likely to disappear. That type of contract is generally replete with performance guarantees and hefty liquidated damages that lenders and bond investors love.
A Special Report by Engineering News-Record and Power Magazines The industry’s ability to field a skilled craft force traditionally has been challenged by construction’s seasonality, cyclicality and hard work. But trying to hit the bull’s eye in demand has been made doubly difficult by the swinging and twisting target, put in motion partially by a huge surge in powerplant construction over the past two years and an overall U.S. construction market that has been expanding for a record 10 years. Only recently are there signs that the industry may be in for a breather and a chance to mitigate labor
Conflict has marred the start of commercial operation of the world's largest and most advanced circulating fluidized-bed boilers. Foster Wheeler Energy Corp. last month filed suit against JEA for breach of contract on the Jacksonville, Fla., municipal utility's Northside generating station, where CFB installation was completed this summer. But the project's legal problems do not detract from the accomplishment that the 600-Mw plant represents in the maturing of circulating fluidized-bed combustion technology. RECORD-SETTING JEA's Northside station claims the world's largest CFB boiler installation. (Photo courtesy of JEA) Clinton, N.J.-based Foster Wheeler designed and supplied the two 300-Mw CFB boilers and
It is the eighth-busiest U.S. airport in terms of plane traffic, but Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport also is near the top of the list for ongoing construction--especially tunneling. MUCKY Equipment, materials and muck disposal formed constant procession. (Photo courtesy of HNTB) Some $3 billion worth of new terminal, runway, tunnel and station work has been plugging along for seven years, says Gary Warren, director of airside development for the Metropolitan Airports Commission. "We've been spending $1 million a day since 1996," he says. One notable highlight of all that work lies within level layers of soils filled with boulders, air
Through the country's economic recession and still shaky recovery over the past two years, there were always clutch markets that stepped up to the plate to keep construction in the game. Public works, institutional buildings and housing all posted impressive growth rates this year, offsetting huge declines in the industrial, commercial and office building markets. But economists now predict that as private nonresidential building markets sink deeper into recession in 2003, this year's growth engines may not have enough horsepower to offset the slide. The Dodge division of McGraw-Hill Construction expects overall construction contract awards to decline 1% next year.
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