Florida’s construction contract activity in December was a microcosm of the state’s overall year, as nonresidential and nonbuilding markets declined significantly, and residential picked up the pace, according to the latest information from McGraw-Hill Construction. Related Links: Georgia Contracts End '11 With Positive Numbers North Carolina Contracts Gain 17% in December South Carolina Contracts End 2011 With Solid Momentum For the latest month, McGraw-Hill Construction estimated the value of Florida’s nonresidential contracts at about $299.1 million, or 42% lower than the same period of a year ago. The nonbuilding market, which includes infrastructure contracts, tallied $226.1 million, or about 20%

According to the latest information from McGraw-Hill Construction, the value of Georgia’s new construction contracts improved by 14% in December, nearly identical to the state’s overall growth rate for the year. Related Links: North Carolina Contracts Gain 17% in December South Carolina Ends 2011 With Solid Momentum Residential and nonbuilding contracts provided the positive momentum in December. The company estimated Georgia’s housing-related contract activity at $299.3 million for the month, or 13% better than the same period of a year ago. Meanwhile, the nonbuilding sector, which includes infrastructure projects, roughly doubled compared to last December to register $153 million in

The value of North Carolina construction contracts surged 17% in December but fell just short of the amount needed to push the state’s 2011 total into positive territory, according to McGraw-Hill Construction. Related Links: South Carolina Contracts End 2011 With Solid Momentum Continuing gains in the nonbuilding sector, along with a jump in residential contracts, pushed North Carolina’s December total to $1.1 billion, or 17% better than the same period of a year ago.McGraw-Hill Construction estimated the state’s nonbuilding contracts at $233.7 million for December, or more than double the amount registered a year ago. Residential contracts improved by 24%,

South Carolina contracts recorded across-the-board increases in December for a 38% overall spike in new work, according to McGraw-Hill Construction. The company estimated the value of new nonresidential contracts at nearly $110 million in December, or 49% better than the same period of a year ago. Residential contracts picked up the pace, too, registering a 20% monthly gain on roughly $229.5 million in new work. The nonbuilding sector, which includes infrastructure contracts, roughly tripled compared to a year ago, for a $50.8-million total.According to McGraw-Hill’s figures, the value of South Carolina contracts ended 2011 approximately 19% ahead of 2010’s volume.

Surrounded by supporters wearing "Go Build" hardhats, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal (R) on Jan. 17 announced the creation of Go Build Georgia, a promotional initiative aimed at raising the awareness of the value of careers in the skilled trades. Photo Courtesy Office of Gov. Nathan Deal Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal invited dozens of supporters wearing "Go Build" hardhats to help him announce the Go Build Georgia initiative on Jan. 17. Georgia Power CEO Paul Bowers spoke in support of the program at the announcement. Photo Courtesy Go Build Alabama Mike Rowe, host of the Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs, is promoting

ROTHSteven Roth is a new project executive for KM/Plaza Construction in Miami. Roth has more than 25 years of construction industry experience. Robert Fish is also a new project executive for KM/Plaza. He has more than 18 years of industry experience. Joshua Salazar has joined HDR in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., as a project manager. He is working in the field of transportation planning and project development. A professional engineer, Salazar previously served for seven years with the Florida Dept. of Transportation's District 4.  HAMESFred Hames was recently named general manager and executive vice president for Skanska USA Building's Florida operations

A big jump in the value of new infrastructure contracts pushed South Carolina’s overall total for November construction well above the year-ago figure, virtually guaranteeing a positive 2011 for the state, according to McGraw-Hill Construction. The company estimated the state’s November contracts total at nearly $1.4 billion, or more than double the year-ago pace of roughly $510.2 million. Nonbuilding contracts, which include infrastructure projects, totaled nearly $1.1 billion—nearly $1 billion ahead of last year’s November total of $140.1 million for this category. The residential category also registered some positive momentum, gaining 14% compared to a year ago, for a $229.7-million

An across-the-board improvement in new construction contracts, along with a surge of infrastructure projects, propelled Florida’s November total for new contracts to nearly $1.7 billion, or 35% better than a year ago, according to McGraw-Hill Construction. Nonbuilding contracts led the way, with the month’s total of more than $700.3 million equaling more than twice that of last November, when this category tallied $330.3 million. The nonresidential market was up, too, with the latest month’s total of nearly $294.3 million representing an 8% gain over the same period of a year ago. The residential sector increased by 7% overall, recording $675.5

The volume of new Georgia construction contracts continued to escalate in November, as McGraw-Hill Construction reported the overall value of new projects improved by 10%, compared to the same period of a year ago. The latest data marked Georgia’s sixth straight month of improving construction contract totals. In November, all of the gains were in the nonresidential category, however. That sector tallied more than $529.5 million, for a 50% increase compared to last November. The nonbuilding category, which includes infrastructure work, fell 29% compared to a year ago, for a monthly total of $197.8 million. Residential contracts slid 4% for

At the end of October, McGraw-Hill Construction’s data showed that North Carolina’s 2011 total volume of new contracts was 6% ahead of 2010. A disastrous November changed all of that, wiping out the year’s gains and sending the state’s total back down into negative territory for the year. The volume of North Carolina’s construction contracts fell 52% overall in November, compared to the same period of a year ago, according to McGraw-Hill. The value of all new contracts was just over $1 billion for the month.The nonbuilding sector, which includes infrastructure projects, experienced the steepest decline. It fell 76% compared