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Construction PPIs drop in January; Dodge starts rebound; ABI slips; housing is mixedEditor’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.The producer price index (PPI) for final demand decreased 0.7%, not seasonally adjusted (-0.8%, seasonally adjusted), in January and was flat over 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Wednesday. BLS introduced numerous new indexes for inputs to construction and updated the "relative importance" weights for the inputs to each series (available to readers by request to simonsonk@agc.org). AGC posted an explanation and tables focusing on construction prices and costs.
Reshaping the Construction Industry
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Ever stop and wonder who builds those tall towers around the world? Sure, we hear about the engineers or the “starchitects” but we seldom hear about the skilled work force that makes the designs a reality for the rest of us. We have followed the series of articles by Tom Curwen in the LA Times about the new Wilshire Grand Center in downtown LA. Curwen has written an article that is particularly interesting to me, and I thought that you might learn something from it as well.
February 23, 2015
The Chairman of the Board of the Associated General Contractors Austin Chapter, John Cyrier, will be sworn in soon as a State Representative in the Texas House. That’s after narrowly winning a special runoff election on Tuesday.Per the AGC Texas Building Branch:“With wins in three out of the district's five counties for a total of 52 percent of the nearly 8,000 votes, Cyrier (R-Caldwell) defeated Brent Golemon (R-Bastrop) to take the seat vacated by Rep. Tim Kleinschmidt (R-Lexington). Cyrier, the AGC Austin Chapter chair, won with 329 votes to spare after leading with 46 percent of the vote in last month's five-way special election.”Cyrier, a Republican, served as Caldwell County Commissioner and County Judge Pro-Tem until 2013. As Commissioner, he worked closely with neighboring county governments throughout House District 17 and led emergency and recovery efforts for the devastating 2011 wildfires in Caldwell and Bastrop Counties.
February 21, 2015
Each year, NCCER and Build Your Future (BYF) are proud to celebrate Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month in February. CTE Month celebrates the extraordinary achievements and contributions of CTE programs across America, which prepare students for careers in today's economy.The Construction Labor Market Analyzer forecasts that more than 2 million new craft professionals will be needed in the construction industry by 2018. The skilled trades continue to be the hardest jobs to fill in the U.S., resulting in plenty of career opportunities for CTE graduates. CTE offers programs such as welding, HVAC, plumbing, electrical and carpentry to prepare students for high-paying, in-demand construction careers at both the high school level and in postsecondary programs.
February 20, 2015
In recent weeks, oil field services companies have made some pretty big headlines with announcements of major reductions in employees as the price of oil continues to slide. Many of these announcements do not identify the actual numbers of those employees who live in the United States. For those who do, however, the future may not be as bleak as one might think. We are here with a solution.The US construction market is poised to have one of the best growth periods since the early 1970’s. Many believe this renaissance could restore the United States to a position of manufacturing prominence that was lost over the last two decades.
February 19, 2015
Highly-skilled Heavy Equipment Operators, performing their duties on the job, make the equipment they operate an extension of themselves. Instead of over-thinking which levers to pull, what responses could occur and how to mitigate risk while remaining efficient, skilled operators develop an awareness about their machines which allows them to gracefully operate with confidence.
February 18, 2015
Construction craft professionals are among the happiest people in the workforce when they're employed by an ethical contractor who invests in their employees, a recently released report found.The 2015 Best Industry Ranking Report by TINYpulse says construction professionals and facility service workers are the happiest, followed by people who work in consumer products, technology, and software. After that were telecom, energy, and utilities. Health care rounded out the top five. In last place was manufacturing.But this survey was not simply a ranking of which employees are the happiest. There are lessons to be learned about why certain employees are much more satisfied by their work than others.
February 17, 2015
Nonres starts, materials prices show mixed trends in January, multiple sources showEditor’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.The value of nonresidential construction starts jumped 11% from January 2014 to January 2015, CMD (formerly Reed Construction Data) reported on Wednesday, based on data it collected. Heavy engineering starts surged 48%, while nonresidential building starts shrank 8.3%, with commercial building starts down 10% and institutional building starts up 0.1%.Investment research firm Thompson Research Group issued a summary of its monthly survey of building products firms on Wednesday. "With the precipitous drop in energy prices, we remain focused on how this impacts building product manufacturers' ability to pass on pricing.
February 16, 2015
Craft professionals all across the United States are geared up in anticipation, ready to compete in ABC’s 2015 National Craft Championships (NCC) coming in March to Fort Lauderdale, Fl. This multi-day event, with 15 different competitions, will draw in participants from 11 different skilled trades, all vying to be recognized as the best in their craft.
February 13, 2015
The following article originally appeared in the February newsletter to clients of Kiley Advisors, LLC for the purpose of providing the latest leading indicators and industry issues to those clients. Reprinted with permission.Despite the recent dip in oil prices, 2015 continues to look like a good year for the commercial construction market in Houston. And while 2015 is not expected to be the same pace as 2014, a slowdown was already expected as the 2014 levels of construction in some markets were unsustainable. For instance, 2014 saw records broken in light industrial and retail markets, with near records in the office market. To continue at that pace would mean that Houston would run the risk of overbuilding, a scenario no contractor from the 80’s wants to see repeated.So which markets are the winners and losers of 2015? In short, there are no real losers. All markets, while some will slow, will still post very respectable numbers. Our sister industries, residential and industrial, will continue to be strong, particularly industrial.
February 12, 2015
