Related Links: Airports Council International-North America report Congress Clears Long-Delayed FAA Bill (ENR 2/12/12) Airports in the U.S. need $71.3 billion over five years to expand, rebuild and upgrade terminals, runways and other infrastructure, an Airports Council International-North America, or ACI-NA, survey says. Released on Jan. 29, the report says that while large and medium hubs have funds secured or expected for 65% of capital needs, small hubs have 81% of funds committed or expected.The total is down 11% from ACI-NA's 2011 survey, but the group says the average $14.3 billion a year outpaces income from federal Airport Improvement Program

Related Links: BLS employment report for January 2013, with tables Associated General Contractors of America release/analysis Associated Builders and Contractors release/analysis Construction added 28,000 jobs in January but its 16.1% unemployment rate was worse than December’s 13.5%, as the winter slowdown in building took firmer hold.Nevertheless, last month's rate was much improved from the January 2012 level of 17.7% and was the industry's best January number in five years.The Bureau of Labor Statistics latest monthly look at the U.S. employment picture, released on Feb. 1, showed that all construction sectors gained jobs in January except non-residential building, which lost 2,700

Related Links: Treasury Secretary Geithner's debt-limit letter to Capitol Hill leaders New Fiscal Fights Ahead After 'Cliff' Deal (ENR.com 1/9/13) The Senate at ENR press time neared a vote on a House-approved measure allowing the U.S. to exceed its $16.4-trillion debt limit until May 18. If enacted, the bill would avert a financial crisis—temporarily.On Jan. 14, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner notified Congress that between mid-February and early March, Treasury would exhaust interim steps to avoid default on the country's obligations.The bill the House cleared on Jan. 23 doesn't specify a new debt-ceiling level but lets the U.S. incur debt needed

Related Links: USTR Press Release Announcing Negotiations on Services-Sector Trade Link to Commerce Dept. Data on Goods and Services Exports, Imports Exports of design and construction services, a bright spot in U.S. international trade, could get a further boost under a recently announced new round of multilateral negotiations focused on the services sector.Talks are to begin by mid-April in Geneva among the U.S., the European Union and 18 other countries, including China and Japan. Announcing the talks on Jan. 15, U.S. Trade Rep. Ron Kirk said services exports could rise substantially. But he added, "To begin to realize this potential,

Related Links: Senate Vote Next Step for $50.5B Post-Sandy Funding Bill (ENR 1/23/13) Text of bill Three months after Hurricane Sandy slammed into the Mid-Atlantic coast, a $50.5-billion package to help New Jersey, New York and other states in the region rebuild from the powerful storm has cleared Congress and been enacted.President Obama, who had pledged to "sign this bill into law as soon as it hits my desk," signed the measure the evening of Jan 29. The final congressional vote came the previous day, when the Senate approved the bill by a 62-36 tally. The House had passed the

Courtesy of U.S. DOT Related Links: LaHood 1/29 message to DOT employees Obama statement on LaHood's announcement Ray LaHood, who has led the U.S.  Dept. of Transportation since January 2009, has announced he is leaving his post as DOT Secretary after a successor is named and confirmed. LaHood, who announced his decision on Jan. 29 in a message to DOT employees, did not say what he plans to do after he leaves the department.Speculation about whether LaHood, 67, would leave the Cabinet has been circulating for weeks—along with rumors about possible successors.Among the possible candidates mentioned in the rumor mill are:

Related Links: House Clears $9.7B for Sandy Flood Aid, N.Y. and N.J. Want More House Ends Session Without Considering Post-Sandy Aid Officials in New Jersey, New York and other East Coast states seeking to rebuild from Hurricane Sandy—and construction firms that would carry out the reconstruction projects—are hoping for quick Senate approval of a $50.5-billion recovery aid package that the House cleared on Jan. 15.The measure's largest infrastructure allocations are $10.9 billion for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and $5.3 billion for Army Corps of Engineers civil-works projects. John Doyle, special counsel with the law and lobbying firm Jones Walker

Construction’s unemployment rate rose in December to 13.5%, from November’s 12.2%, even with an industry gain of 30,000 jobs last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The latest monthly BLS employment report, released on Jan. 4, also showed that construction’s jobless rate last month was down from the December 2011 figure of 16.0%. December marked the 27th straight month in which construction posted year-over-year improvement in its unemployment rates.The BLS rates are not adjusted to reflect seasonal swings. In the highly seasonal construction industry, cold-weather months tend to show a drop in the volume of projects in much of

Related Links: House Appropriations summary of $17-billion near-term part of the legislation Rep. Frelinghuysen summary of $33-billion long-term part of the measure (before amendments) The House has approved a $50.5-billion package to help New York, New Jersey and other Northeast states hammered by Hurricane Sandy carry out immediate repairs and also plan longer-term storm-protection measures.Construction-related funding in the package is substantial, particularly for transportation and waterways work. It includes $10.9 billion for the Federal Transit Administration; $5.3 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers; and $2 billion for the Federal Highway Administration.The measure, which the House cleared on Jan. 15

Related Links: What the Interim 'Fiscal Cliff Deal' Means for Construction White House summary of fiscal cliff agreement An at-the-wire deal that held the government at the brink of the "fiscal cliff" will hike taxes for some small construction firms and give companies a short reprieve from mandatory spending cuts slated to hit most federal construction accounts on Jan. 2. All in all, the tax increases would have been much steeper and more widespread and the budget cuts immediate if there had been no deal.But the product of the agreement, the American Taxpayers Relief Act, which Congress approved Jan. 1