Construction starts in July remained generally unchanged from June’s pace, holding steady in a market that has seen 19% growth during the first seven months of 2015, according to Dodge Data & Analytics.
A Florida state board's Aug. 5 agreement to issue $1.75 billion in tax-exempt bonds on behalf of a controversial 235-mile passenger-rail line project signals a key victory for the private company developing the Miami-to-Orlando system.
Norway soars, Venezuela sinks in FM Global's supply-chain study. Related Links: Interactive Graphic of FM Global Supply-Chain Resilience Study Results Does your risk management strategy take into account the political stability and oil-shock resistance of the countries from which you receive supplies?A recent report from insurance company FM Global identifies the greatest risk to a company's supply chain, whether the risk comes from the location of the project or the location of the supplier.In FM Global's 2015 Resilience Index, Norway achieved the top spot with high scores for gross domestic product per capita, low historical exposure to natural hazards and
Related Links: Commerce Dept./Census Bureau release AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's comments and analysis ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu's comments and analysis Construction’s June spending edged up just 0.1% from May’s level, to a $1.065-billion annual rate, but posted a strong 12% gain year over year, the Commerce Dept. has reported.Commerce’s U.S. Census Bureau said in its latest monthly construction spending report, released on Aug. 3, that the value of construction work put in place during the first six months of 2015 rose 8% from the same period last year.Total residential spending in June increased a slight 0.4% from May
Photo courtesy China Construction America Ninety-seven percent complete, the $3.5B Bahamas resort project is in limbo after the developer filed for bankruptcy. Related Links: Baha Mar Discussions Devolve Into a War of Words Contractor, Bahamian Government Fight Resort Developer Bankruptcy Seawater-Sourced Cooling to Debut at Bahamas Resort The resolution of a stalled, nearly complete Bahamas resort project has become more complicated.A Bahamian judge’s July 22nd announcement that the island nation will not recognize the U.S. bankruptcy filing of a local developer building the $3.5-billion, Baha Mar resort is injecting further uncertainty, including for project contractors. The ruling marks the latest
Weeks after the Texas Dept. of Transportation defaulted a big Mexico-based contractor on at least five road projects, little is known about what happened or why.The projects, in Houston, Beaumont and El Paso, all are backed by surety guarantees. Zurich North America provided Tradeco Infrasestructura surety bonds for at least one of the projects, according to a TexDOT district engineer involved with one of the defaults.Public works agencies generally declare contractors in default for failing to make adequate progress in their work or for failing to pay subcontractors.Neither Tradeco officials nor Zurich officials could be reached for comment.On one project
Data from Arcadis shows the evolving picture of international conflicts. Related Links: Arcadis Global Disputes Report Construction disputes globally are dragging on longer and costing more than ever before, with Asia and the Middle East leading the way, a new report finds.The average value of a construction dispute worldwide hit $51 million in 2014, up from just under $40 million the year before, while it took on average 13.2 months to resolve, according to a new report by global design and consulting firm Arcadis.The cause most commonly cited is the “failure to properly administer the contract,” notes the firm’s “Global
Related Links: Dodge Data & Analytics report (07/22/2015) June construction starts fell 15% from the previous month’s level, to a $620.2-billion annual rate, with part of the downturn due to a huge liquefied natural gas facility in Texas that got under way in May, Dodge Data & Analytics has reported.On the brighter side, Dodge’s latest monthly report on new construction, released on July 22, also showed that starts for January through June rose 23% year over year. But Dodge noted that, excluding the impacts of big electric utility and natural gas facilities, overall first-half construction starts climbed 11% compared with
Photo courtesy China Construction America Both the developer and China Construction America estimate that the $3.5-billion Baha Mar resort project is 97-percent complete. Related Links: Bankruptcy Brings Nearly Completed Resort Project to a Halt Work on the Caribbean's Largest Resort Gets Under Way A subsidiary of China Construction America (CCA), as well as the Bahamian government, are taking separate steps to prevent the developer of a stalled, nearly complete resort project from attaining protection from creditors via bankruptcy.The latest courtroom maneuvers are unfolding as the contractor and developer participate, ironically, in negotiations with the Export-Import Bank of China—the project’s main
Jay Senter for ENR The site of a planned development in Kansas for which an engineering firm claims it is owed a large payment. Related Links: Fluor's Paul Bruno: How We Approach Risk Management By most standards, developer Cameron Group LLC appears to be an excellent prospect as a client: It has an impressive portfolio of malls, and its principals have gleaming résumés, many acquired while working at The Pyramid Cos., a Syracuse, N.Y.-based developer.So, when Cameron needed mechanical and electrical drawings for a long-delayed new retail development that the firm hoped would transform a weedy parcel in Mission, Kan.,
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