These days, revenue is a deceiving gauge of market conditions. Many top contractors reported record revenue for 2008 and they expect to finish out this year with strong numbers as they consume backlog built up in better times. But as jobs won during the boom reach completion, the reality of today’s troubled market is settling in, leaving large firms nervous about what late 2010 and 2011 could bring. Photo: McCarthy Competition is fierce for institutional projects like this renovation project at Carlsbad High School in California. Photo: Skanska Skanska is building a $220-million children’s hospital. Turner Construction Co., New York
Labor Day will be a mixed blessing in U.S. construction this year. Many workers will enjoy the day off, with employment secured by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. But others will see the holiday as a reminder of a frustrating job search and economic worry in a battered industry market that billions in federal stimulus may not be able to save. Slide Show Pike Industries Inc. paving crew working on a New Hampshire ARRA-funded highway job; the state mobilized quickly to get projects ready. President Barack Obama’s massive $787-billion stimulus package set an ambitious goal when enacted earlier this
Two years ago, the D.C. construction community was overwhelmed with opportunities and hard-pressed to find enough hands to take on work. Harkins Builders is currently building some of the few remaining major private projects moving forward in the District, including 2300 Pennsylvania Ave. SmithGroup partnered with Freelon Adjaye Bond to design the National Museum of African American History and Culture. It will take up to three years to design the $500-million project with construction to begin in 2012. The museum is scheduled to open in 2015. These days, many firms are burning backlog and hoping they can hold on until
A widespread adoption of lean techniques, integrated teaming and virtual design and construction could be the keys to improving productivity in the construction industry, according to a new report released by the National Research Council. The report, “Advancing the Competitiveness and Efficiency of the U.S. Construction Industry,” focuses on reducing waste in time, cost, materials, energy, skills and labor and offers recommendations on how to promote industry-wide adoption over the next 20 years. + Image Source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of labor statistics Construction and non-farm labor productivity index “This is the most important topic in the industry right
Debate over detailed solutions to close the gap in funding the nation’s water infrastructure needs has begun. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) introduced legislation on July 15 to establish a Clean Water Trust Fund for repairing and upgrading the nation's drinking-water and wastewater treatment systems. Photo: The Office of Earl Bluemenaur Blumenauer starts debate on water trust fund. The bill aims to amass $10 billion in annual funding through a mix of taxes on bottled beverages, corporate profits, pharmaceuticals and products typically disposed of in wastewater. Almost half the funds would be distributed as grants and loans through the existing Clean
The Obama administration has proposed rules that would encourage agencies to consider project labor agreements (PLAs) on large projects, including economic-stimulus work. The proposed Federal Acquisition Regulation change, published on July 14, says agencies should consider requiring PLAs on jobs of $25 million or more. It follows President Obama’s Feb. 6 directive overturning the Bush administration’s ban on federal PLAs. Labor unions lobbied for the rule change in the 2008 presidential campaign. AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Dept. spokesman Tom Owens says the rule will “be a great opportunity for us to demonstrate our value in certain regions of the
As fiscal 2010 spending bills advance on Capitol Hill, water infrastructure programs look like big winners. The House’s 2010 bill for the U.S. Interior Dept. and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency passed on June 26 includes $5.2 billion for EPA water grants, a 76% jump from 2009’s mark. It also includes $2.3 billion for state clean-water spending, more than triple this year’s level, and $1.4 billion for state drinking-water funding, up 74%. The version the Senate Appropriations Committee cleared on June 25 is less generous but still well above 2009 totals. The measure recommends $4.95 billion for EPA water grants, including
Efforts to develop a magnetic levitation train system between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area could be affected by a pact between California and Nevada to extend a high-speed rail corridor between the cities. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Nevada Sen Harry Reid (D) announced the deal on July 2. Reid had endorsed high-speed rail over maglev in June. The pact calls for an 184-mile route from Las Vegas to Victorville, Calif., with speeds of up to 150 miles per hour. Maglev has operated in excess of 250 miles per hour in Europe and Asia. Reid says the
Top GOP lawmakers told open-shop advocates they face an uphill battle on Capitol Hill. At the Associated Builders and Contractors’ legislative conference on June 25, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) raised concerns about the outlook for the Employee Free Choice Act, which ABC and other opponents call the “card check” bill. When Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) switched to the Democratic party in April, he vowed to oppose the bill. But McConnell doubts Specter will keep that promise and thinks the GOP needs at least two Democrats to block the bill. House GOP Leader John Boehner (Ohio) called the American
The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to revise rules governing nitrogen-dioxide air emissions, the first new NO2 standards in more than 35 years. The June 26 proposal includes a new one-hour standard of 80 to 100 parts per billion and would add monitoring for NO2 within 50 meters of major roads in cities with populations of 350,000 or more. EPA would keep the present annual average standard at 53 ppb.
