The Dodge Momentum Index posted a monthly decline of 4.8% this January but is still 5.8% higher than January 2014's level, according to Dodge Data & Analytics.
The Construction Backlog Indicator, compiled by the Associated Builders and Contractors, reached its highest level since the index was launched in the first quarter of 2009.The latest CBI for the third quarter of 2014 shows an average 8.8 months of backlog, which is 6.9% higher than the same quarter of 2013. "Every region of the nation experienced expanding backlog during the third quarter and so did every industry segment," says Anirban Basu, ABC's chief economist. "The last two quarters tell a positive story that non-residential building contractors are positioned to get busier," he adds.The average backlog was up about two
Dodge Construction Starts End 2014 With a 7% Annual Increase Construction starts totaled $575.3 billion in 2014, a 7% increase over the previous year, says Dodge Data & Analytics. Most of the growth came in non-residential building, which rose 17% from the 2013 total. The housing market was up 8%, while non-building construction struggled with a 6% dip."Continued expansion of construction starts in 2014 included more growth for commercial buildings, the first increase for institutional building after five years of decline and a surge of manufacturing-plant projects," says Robert Murray, DD&A chief economist. Manufacturing surged 74%, lifted by large energy-related
Photo Courtesy of Cincinnati Fire and EMs Related Links: Quebec Overpasses Under Scrutiny After 2006 Collapse Near Montreal Fatal Tanker Collision, Blaze on Tenn. I-65 Damages Two Overpass Bridges A stretch of Interstate 75 in downtown Cincinnati will be closed for several days pending investigations into what caused an overpass to collapse around 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 19, crushing a construction worker identified in media reports as 35-year-old Brandon William Carl, of Augusta, Ky.Kokosing Construction Co. was demolishing the overpass as part of an approximately $90-million contract to reconstruct and add a lane on 1.61 miles of I-75 in each
Rider Levett Bucknall Counting Cranes as Market Indicator Residential construction of condominium and apartment projects are leading the U.S. construction industry, according to a new economic index that takes into account the number of tower cranes being operated in major cities across North America.Compiled by cost research firm Rider Levett Bucknall, the North American RLB Crane Index suggests that large-scale residential projects in Boston, Chicago, Denver, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York City and Seattle are responsible for the majority of cranes populating city skylines. "We expect that this growth—which includes redevelopment, renovation and expansion projects—will continue to increase throughout 2015,"
Related Links: Engineering News-Record Swanke Hayden Connell Files For Protection From Creditors Swanke Hayden Connell, the New York City-based architectural practice, filed for protection from its creditors on Jan. 9 in federal court in Manhattan. With a glittering portfolio of projects that included the restoration of the Statue of Liberty, Trump Tower and offices of some of the most prestigious corporations in the world, Swanke Hayden had dwindled to a small practice in recent years, after two key principals left. The final blow to the company apparently came with a $2.297-million dispute over payments due from a client in Russia.Employment
