Ken Simonson's blog

Building products volumes rise, results vary for prices; nonresidential starts increase

Editor’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.

Securities research firm Thompson Research Group on April 12 released its quarterly building products survey of select manufacturers and distributors with more than 300 locations nationwide "on the state of the residential and nonres[identical] construction end markets....A common theme from all contacts was...a tight labor market along the value chain (truck driver shortages to drywall installers)....Overall nonres volumes are projected to be up mid-to-high single digits, depending upon the industry contact. Earlier construction value chain feedback is for 6-8% [increase in] volumes...Other contacts with a wider range of early and later cycle nonres products cite a...4-6% range. Healthcare end market remains strong, and office growth is also driving demand. Not surprisingly, industry contacts confirm that the multifamily end market growth rates are likely to slow in 2016 [to] (small single digits growth).    [node:read-more:link]

44 states, D.C. add jobs in March; Beige Book finds construction stays mostly positive

Editor’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.

Seasonally adjusted construction employment rose in 44 states and the District of Columbia from March 2015 to March 2016, decrease in five states and was unchanged in Connecticut, an AGC analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released on Friday showed. California again added the most jobs (39,600 jobs, 5.6%), followed by Florida (27,500 jobs, 6.5%), New York (17,300 jobs, 4.9%) and Massachusetts (16,000 jobs, 11.9%).    [node:read-more:link]

Most metros add jobs in February; openings soar, hiring is flat; commercial scene varies

Editor’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 employment, not seasonally adjusted, increased from February 2015 to February 2016 in 234 (65%) of the 358 metro areas (including divisions of larger metros) for which the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) provides construction employment data, decreased in 72 (20%) and was stagnant in 52, according to an AGC release and map on Tuesday that analyzed BLS data. (BLS combines mining and logging with construction in most metros.)    [node:read-more:link]

March construction employment, February spending post hefty, diverse 12-month gains

Editor’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.

Nonfarm payroll employment in March increased by 215,000, seasonally adjusted, from February and by 2,802,000 (2.0%) over 12 months, and the unemployment rate inched up to 5.0% from 4.9% in February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Construction employment rose by 37,000 for the month (to 6,672,000) and by 301,000 (4.7%) year-over-year (y/y). Industry employment reached the highest level since December 2008. Residential construction employment (residential building and specialty trade contractors) increased by 13,400 for the month and 166,000 (6.8%) y/y. Nonresidential employment (nonresidential building, specialty trades, and heavy and civil engineering construction) rose by 23,900 for the month and 134,800 (3.4%) y/y.    [node:read-more:link]

Most states add construction jobs in February; openings climb in January, hire rate falls

Editor’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.

Seasonally adjusted construction employment rose in 43 states and the District of Columbia from February 2015 to February 2016 and declined in seven states, an AGC analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released Friday showed. California again added the most jobs (53,800 jobs, 7.6%), followed by New York (19,100 jobs, 5.5%) and Massachusetts (14,600 jobs, 11%). Hawaii added the highest percentage of new construction jobs during the past year (19%, 6,300 jobs), followed by Rhode Island (15%, 2,400 jobs), Massachusetts and New Hampshire (10%, 2,400 jobs). North Dakota lost the highest percent and total number of construction jobs (-14.5%, -5,300 jobs). Other states that lost jobs for the year include Alaska (-8.2%, -1,500 jobs), Wyoming (-7.2%, -1,700 jobs), West Virginia (-6.9%, -2,300 jobs), Kansas (-6.5%, -4,000 jobs), Mississippi (-1.7%, -800 jobs) and Pennsylvania (-1.4%, -3,200 jobs).    [node:read-more:link]

PPIs for construction inputs fall in February but steel vendors post imminent price hikes

Editor’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 in February, not seasonally adjusted, was unchanged from January and year-over-year (y/y) from February 2015, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Tuesday. AGC posted tables and an explanation focusing on construction prices and costs. Final demand includes goods, services and five types of nonresidential buildings that BLS says make up 34% of total construction. The PPI for final demand construction, not seasonally adjusted, decreased 0.1% for the month and increased 1.0% y/y. The PPI for new nonresidential building construction—a measure of the price that contractors say they would charge to build a fixed set of five categories of buildings—rose 1.0% y/y. Changes ranged from -0.1% y/y for healthcare construction to 1.0% for industrial buildings, 1.1% for offices, and 1.4% for warehouses and schools. PPIs for new, repair and maintenance work on nonresidential buildings fell 2.1% y/y for plumbing contractors and rose 1.2% for roofing contractors, 3.5% for concrete contractors and 5.4% for electrical contractors. The index for inputs to construction—excluding capital investment, labor and imports—comprises a mix of 59% goods (including 5% for energy) and 41% services (including trade services, 26%; transportation and warehousing, 4%; and other services, 10%).    [node:read-more:link]

Manpower finds hiring plans are stable; market appears hot for renewables, data centers

Editor’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.

"Hiring plans remain relatively stable" for April-June 2016, after adjusting for seasonal variation, compared to January-March, "and employers report no change compared to one year ago at this time," ManpowerGroup reported on Tuesday in releasing its latest quarterly survey of 11,000 U.S. employers. Employers in all 13 industry sectors included in the survey have a positive outlook for the second quarter. "When the industry sector data is compared quarter over quarter,...hiring activity is expected to remain relatively stable nationwide" in construction and 10 of the 12 other sectors.    [node:read-more:link]

Construction employment in February, spending in January climb to seven-year highs

Editor’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.

Nonfarm payroll employment in February increased by 242,000, seasonally adjusted, from January and by 2,672,000 (1.9%) over 12 months, and the unemployment rate stayed at 4.9%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported last week. Construction employment rose by 19,000 for the month (to 6,631,000) and by 253,000 (4.0%) year-over-year (y/y). Industry employment reached the highest level since December 2008. Residential construction employment (residential building and specialty trade contractors) increased by 15,000 for the month and 155,100 (6.4%) y/y.    [node:read-more:link]

Starts show mixed pattern in January, Dodge says; office campuses return, CoStar finds

Editor’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 new construction starts in January increased 2% from December's level at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, Dodge Data & Analytics reported on February 19, based on data it collected. "The gain for total construction relative to December reflected moderate growth [5%] for housing. At the same time, nonresidential building retreated slightly [–1%] in January, as increases for commercial building and manufacturing plant construction were offset by diminished activity for institutional building. The nonbuilding construction sector also retreated slightly [-2%] in January, as modest improvement for public works was offset by a downturn for the electric utilities/gas plant category. On an unadjusted basis, total construction starts in January were...down 14% from the same month a year ago, which featured the start of two massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal projects in Texas.    [node:read-more:link]

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PPIs for new construction rise more slowly in January; ABI, housing starts level off

Editor’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 in January increased 0.3% from December, not seasonally adjusted (0.1%, seasonally adjusted) but fell 0.2% year-over-year (y/y) from January 2015, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Wednesday. AGC posted tables and an explanation focusing on construction prices and costs. Final demand includes goods, services and five types of nonresidential buildings that BLS says make up 34% of total construction. The PPI for final demand construction, not seasonally adjusted, decreased 0.3% for the month and increased 1.2% y/y, down from a 1.8% rise in 2015. The overall PPI for new nonresidential building construction—a measure of the price that contractors say they would charge to build a fixed set of five categories of buildings—rose 1.1% y/y.    [node:read-more:link]