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Spending falls in April but rises year-to-date; Beige Book finds increasing demand, costsEditor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.Construction spending in April totaled $1.133 trillion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, down 1.8% from March but up 4.5% year-over-year, the Census Bureau reported on Wednesday. The March level was revised up by an unusually large $18 billion (1.6%). The March-to-April decline may reflect "payback" after a mild winter that enabled contractors to do work that normally wouldn't occur before spring. Combined January-April year-to-date (YTD) spending was 8.7% higher than in the same months of 2015. Public construction dropped 2.8% for the month but climbed 6.1% YTD. The largest public component, highway and street construction, fell 0.4% for the month but increased 13% YTD. The other major public segment, educational construction, fell 2.5% for the month but rose 10% YTD. Private residential spending declined 1.5% in April but increased 9.3% YTD.
Reshaping the Construction Industry
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Educators, industry representatives, family, and friends of the CMEF class of 2016 gathered last Thursday evening to celebrate the achievements of this graduating class of construction craft professionals. The Construction and Maintenance Education Foundation (CMEF) hosted the event for those of us who braved the local thunderstorms at a unique event hall nestled between branches of the Buffalo Bayou on the southeast side of Houston called Brady’s Landing.After a brief introduction by Mike Holland, CMEF Board of Directors Chair and Marek Houston Division President, the evening began with a stirring presentation of the United States Colors by the Deer Park High School JROTC (Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps). Following the United States Pledge of Allegiance, the room bowed their heads during an invocation delivered by Rick Rankin, an industry representative from Jacobs.We were then invited to fill our dinner plates at the ample buffet, allowing the CMEF graduates and the National Craft Championship competitors in attendance to precede us.Russell Hamley, ABC/CMEF President, then recognized the sponsors of the evening’s festivities, including the host sponsor CMEF, the training affiliate of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of Greater Houston.
June 02, 2016
The following article was authored by Don Procter and originally published in AWCI's Construction Dimensions magazine.While debate rages about what to do with illegal workers in the United States, Canada has its own set of problems on that front. The country’s largest city, Toronto, has a robust construction economy that has proven to be a magnet for foreigners without legal papers. Estimates put the number of illegals at close to 35 percent in some building trades, according to one source. In the residential sector where most of construction activity is (high-rise residential condominiums are an example), sources say undocumented workers on city construction projects range from 10,000 to more than 20,000.Some of those illegals are working in the wall and ceiling trades. No trade, in fact, is likely immune. But it is difficult to put a finger on precisely how big the issue is because contractors—large, medium and small—are not willing to admit they take on undocumented employees.Richard Boraks, a Toronto-based immigration lawyer who specializes in construction, says if the ranks of undocumented workers are growing in the construction industry, part of the reason is “a total collapse” of immigration programs. Take the Canadian federal government’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program, for example, which offers foreign workers job placements for four years.
June 01, 2016
Recently, Builtworlds, one of our favorite sites, hosted a Con Tech Forum in Chicago bringing together “national industry thought leaders and change agents for a high-impact, collaborative event that will deepen attendees’ understanding of the unprecedented power and possibilities now available to those who design, build, operate, maintain, plan and trade in our vital, evolving $7-trillion industry.”The “C suite” only conference held at the Chicago Athletic Association was 48 hours of jam-packed “forward looking information” for executives in construction. The conference speakers touched on a wide variety of lively subjects and hands on experiences that included:Wearables (headsets, helmets, armbands, etc.); Robotics; Modular Construction; Apps for Safety, Reporting, Documentation, Collaboration; Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones);
May 31, 2016
Enjoying the holiday and finding time to relax is important. But anyone who dismisses the sacrifices of this nation's heroes does so at his or her own peril.
May 30, 2016
A new website that helps students and adults tap into career opportunities in the petrochemical industry - which is thriving during this downturn in the energy sector - is now available.“Many of these careers are hidden in plain sight and once people know about them, they become interested because of the compensation, benefits and ability to have a life-long career at one employer,” said Craig Beskid, Executive Director of East Harris County Manufacturers Association (EHCMA).PetrochemWorks.com is designed to help users land good-paying careers in the industry. The site features includes interest-based Career Maps, educational resources and listings of open jobs to help users understand the prospects the industry offers, along with the skills and educational requirements they’ll need to get there.
May 27, 2016
In a previous post, I wrote about my interviews with four students who will soon graduate from Dickinson High School (DHS). We talked about their experiences in the Manufacturing (Welding) program there, part of the school’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) program. After speaking with the students, I then talked with two of their welding instructors, Mike Perry and Ricky Cox.Mike Perry has been teaching in the welding program at DHS for six years. Prior to teaching, Perry had worked as a welder for 20 years for a “Mom and Pop” shop, working indoors and “doing a lot of TIG welding – doing a little bit of stick and MIG and just whatever projects come up.”I asked him what he thinks the welding program at DHS gives to the students. Perry answered:“It gives them a lot of real world application. Everything that they do in here, they are going to do out there. They get to put their hands on everything that they are going to use in the industry before they get out there. I think that is really good for them.”
May 26, 2016
The recent announcement by the IRS Commissioner that the agency is moving forward with hiring hundreds of additional agents has sparked a debate about exactly how those new resources should be utilized. Some leaders in the construction industry have told Construction Citizen that if the government has more people on hand to enforce the law, proper classification of workers should be a priority.Misclassification is the practice of designating an employee as a "1099 worker" or an independent contractor when that person, by law, should be compensated as an employee.Unscrupulous employers do it as a way of sidestepping payroll taxes, unemployment taxes, and workers’ compensation insurance.
May 25, 2016
Craft labor shortages are a serious issue with an enormous impact on project productivity. To gain a better understanding of productivity from their perspective, the Construction Labor Market Analyzer and the Construction Users Roundtable have collaborated in recent years to conduct surveys of construction owners, contractors and unions across the United States.The new CLMA® white paper, Construction Productivity in an Imbalanced Labor Market, assimilates that data and addresses the construction industry productivity and labor shortage challenges. It covers 6 key topics, and is now available for download.Construction Productivity HistoricallyConstruction Productivity TodayProductivity and Project OutcomesImpact of Skilled Labor Shortages on ProductivityMitigating Project RiskImproving ProductivityThe data verifies that an imbalanced labor market is a clear leading indicator of poor productivity. This white paper offers the opportunity to hear from your peers about the labor risk and decreasing industrial construction productivity issues they’re facing.
May 24, 2016
Dodge, ConstructConnect diverge on construction starts trend; PPIs rise in AprilEditor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.Two firms that collect data on the value of new construction starts issued starkly different assessments of April and year-to-date (YTD) starts for the first four months of 2016 combined compared to year-ago periods. April starts slumped 8% from March's level at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, Dodge Data & Analytics reported on Wednesday. "Nonresidential building pulled back [-19%] following its sharp March increase, and residential building also declined [-8%] due to a slower pace for multifamily housing. Meanwhile, the nonbuilding construction sector showed improvement [+10%], with public works strengthening after its lackluster March performance. Through the first four months of 2016, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis were reported...down 12% from...a year ago.
May 23, 2016
