Related Links: The ENR 2nd Quarterly Cost Report (subscribers only) Construction Financial Management Association Sage Policy Group There is now a general consensus that the market has turned around and is growing. Now comes the tough part for construction firms: coping with an expanding market.The CICI measures executive sentiment about the current market and reflects the respondents' views on where it will be in the next three to six months and over a 12- to 18-month period. The index is based on responses to surveys sent out to more than 6,000 U.S. firms on ENR's lists of the leading contractors,
First Quarter Construction Starts Down 2% From a Year Ago The dollar value of total construction starts during 2014's first quarter was $107.4 billion, or 2% less than a year ago, according to McGraw Hill Construction Dodge. After making double-digit gains last year, the residential construction market is up just 3% over 2013's first quarter. That increase was offset by a 4% decline in nonresidential building starts and an 8% drop in the value of non-building construction. "The slow start for construction activity in early 2014 can be attributed to tough winter weather ... and the hesitant upturn over the
ENR Art Dept. A Decline in Volume Follows a Strong December The value of new construction starts fell 13% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $485 billion, according to McGraw Hill Construction Dodge. The downturn follows a strong December, which was the third-highest month for starts in 2013. On an unadjusted basis, total construction starts in January were $34.1 billion, which was down 5% from the same month a year ago. "Non- residential building in 2013 advanced 7%, but the progress was occasionally hesitant, including sluggish activity at the end of last year that carried over into
December's Seasonal Increase Mirroring the slowdown in construction volume in cold-weather months, the industry's December unemployment rate climbed to 11.4% from November's 8.6% as the industry shed 16,000 jobs. But last year also proved to be much better for the construction workforce than 2012, as the industry added an average of 10,000 jobs per month, according to the latest Dept. of Labor figures. The data reflects a split between residential work, which gained 6,200 jobs, and the non-residential and heavy-civil markets, which lost 12,900 and 8,800 jobs, respectively.AMEC Is Set to Buy Foster Wheeler in $3.2-Billion Deal U.K.-based global engineer
Related Links: ENR's 2013 4Q Cost Report (subscription required) Construction Financial Management Association After five years of tough markets and hopes of a recovery that never quite seemed to materialize, construction industry executives now believe the industry is back on the path to growth and the elusive turnaround has arrived. While some sectors remain sluggish, most industry executives surveyed believe the overall market is growing.The ENR Construction Industry Confidence Index survey for the fourth quarter shows the vast majority of respondents—328 executives of large construction and design firms—believe the market is experiencing a sustained recovery. The CICI index stands at
Dodge Starts Slow in November The dollar value of total construction starts posted a monthly decline of 11% during November, according to McGraw Hill Construction's seasonally adjusted Dodge data, which was running at an annual rate of $525 billion. But on a year-to-date basis, total construction starts through the first 11 months of the year was $475 billion, which was 6% above the same period of 2012. Residential construction led the way with a 25% annual increase, followed by an 8% gain for non-residential building work. Non-building construction is still 15% behind 2012.Insurance Company OffersDiscount for Anti-Theft Program Liberty Mutual
It has been a long time coming, but the construction recovery seems to be almost here. The housing market has been keeping up construction growth, which is rebounding from record lows, but now many of the non-residential building markets are starting to turn the corner, making for many optimistic forecasts for 2014. The remaining drag on construction growth for next year is the public sector, which continues to be squeezed by the battle over the federal deficit.Some economists, however, see a silver lining even there. "The recession pushed millions of
Construction's Unemployment Rate Falls to a Six-Year Low The construction sector added 20,000 new jobs in September after showing little change in the prior six months, according to the latest employment statistics from the Dept. of Labor. Moreover, the unemployment rate in the construction industry fell to a six-year low of 8.5%. Construction employment totaled 5,826,000 in September, which is 3.4% higher than in September 2012. Aggregate weekly hours of all construction employees rose 4.2% over the year, indicating that companies are adding to existing workers' hours in addition to hiring new employees.M.C. Dean To Pay $875,000 to Job Applicants
Construction Forecast: 2014 After a sluggish 2013, the construction industry could see a gradual uptick in total construction starts in 2014, according the McGraw Hill Construction's 2014 Dodge Construction Outlook. Total construction starts next year could rise by 9%, to $555 billion, led by a solid housing market and improved opportunities in commercial building, it forecasts. Non-building sectors, especially electrical utilities, could be a drag on starts in the coming years."It's another step along the road to recovery, but on the painful-to-frustrating side at times," says Robert Murray, vice president of economic affairs at McGraw Hill Construction. The forecast was
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