Signaling a move out of deflation, China’s consumer price index in November climbed 0.6% from a year earlier. This comes in tandem with the decision by China’s government, which had held prices for materials at superficially low levels, to allow them to rise and to begin introducing market competition in several key resource sectors. Related Links: Parity Index Adjusts for Exchange Rate Swings Forecast: Inflation Stalls As Recession Undercuts Nonresidential Building Markets Markets: Major Firms Are Pessimistic About A Fast Industry Recovery International: Global Recession Pushes Down Inflation Thailand: Construction Costs Bounce Up As The Recession Bottoms Out Canada: Cool
The perfect storm that sent liquid asphalt prices through the roof in the summer of 2008, creating angst amid road builders and public-sector officials alike, has given way to an outlook for 2010 of stable prices, lower demand levels and less volatility going forward. Since their peak in summer 2008, liquid asphalt prices—the key factor in the cost of asphalt paving mixes—have dropped by nearly half this summer, sources say. The nationwide squeeze on road funding and the general lydown economy will likely keep prices moderate and reduce volatility in asphalt paving mixes through 2010. Source: McGraw-Hill Platts. Liquid Asphalt
The majority of the focus within the telecommunications sector is on building data centers, the power-hungry, industrial-strength warehouse buildings with sophisticated MEP systems that house racks of servers and network switching gear. While the sector was impacted by the economic meltdown last year, with its share of project cancellations and lingering funding problems, it is poised to recover quickly and continue strong for the foreseeable future, say contractors and industry analysts, who paint a picture of a dynamic, rapidly evolving construction market with high growth potential. Photo: DPR Construction Despite a slight downturn in 2009, demand for data centers is
The industrial and manufacturing sector, already care-worn with decades of ‘hollowing out’ as plants moved overseas, continued its slow spiral downward in the last year. The economic crisis that hit in fall 2008 further sapped capital expenditures across the board, and the bankruptcy of two of America’s Big Three automakers this spring contributed to the decline. Photo: DPR Construction Solar-cell manufacturing facilities, like this 45,000-sq-ft design-build plant for Suniva, are a rare bright spot in manufacturing. Photo: Kia Kia is finishing its first auto-assembly plant in the U.S. There are some bright spots, however. New starts have ramped up for
What a difference a year makes. In the summer of 2008, most of the leading architecture and engineering firms in the general building sector were flush with work and times were good. There may have been clouds on the economic horizon and concerns that the fevered pace was unsustainable, but no one predicted the economic tsunami that hit in the fall of 2008. Photo: Skidmore, Owings & Merill The 137-acre Qatar Petroleum campus is moving ahead. Photo: PageSoutherlandPage The Texas Children’s health center is moving forward. Related Links: The Top 500 Design Firms: How Long Will the Recession Last? The
On top of concerns about dwindling backlogs and an uncertain economic outlook, slow payment for work already performed is now sapping the strength of many industry firms. Across the industry, executives report pay cycles for general contractors have stretched to an average of 45 to 60 days from 30 days a year ago. Subcontractors report pay cycles in the 90-day range, roughly twice the average from a year ago. Related Links: Razor-Thin Margins As Contractors Fight For Stimulus Projects Costs Post Rare Quarterly Decline Firms Hold the Line on Raises, But Salaries Remain Competitive A Strong Market Still Has High
For more than 50 years, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has extended the frontiers of human experience, with audacious landings on the moon, the research of Skylab, the far-seeing eye of Hubble and the reduction of space travel to something so routine a successful space-shuttle launch rates little more than a minute of the evening news. Now, NASA is exploring a frontier it has never encountered before: possible budget shortfalls. When NASA shuts down the shuttle program next year, astronauts wanting to do their part on the International Space Station will have to hitch a ride on a Russian
Two former officials of a California firm that bills itself as the “world’s leading provider” of specialty service control valves in global energy and industrial facilities will be sentenced on July 20 after pleading guilty to federal corruption charges for bribery and conspiracy. Six other former executives of Rancho Santa Margarita-based Control Components Inc., including ex-CEO Stuart Carson, were indicted last month by the U.S. Dept. of Justice on similar charges. Neither the firm, a unit of U.K.-based IMI plc, nor current managers were indicted. DOJ charged Carson and the five other executives with multiple counts under the Foreign Corrupt
Engineers, contractors and owners are boarding the Energy Dept.’s $32.7- billion gravy train, augmented by $12.5 billion in loan programs, as it leaves Washington, D.C. Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s last job was as director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. His familiarity with the condition of lab facilities may be why DOE is pouncing on the $1.6 billion in funds appropriated by ARRA, with half earmarked for construction, infrastructure, equipment acquisition and research at nine national laboratories in seven states (see table below). The largest share for a single project is $150 million to accelerate construction on the National Synchrotron Light
When fans sip their first beer at Atlanta’s new minor league ballpark on April 17, few of those on hand will appreciate the feat of design and construction that led to the opening day event. Slide Show Photo: Courtesy Barton Malow New stadium for the Gwinnet Braves takes shape near Atlanta. Photo: Steve Setzer Doug Steljes, project executive for Barton Malow, looks out over the new stadium near Atlanta for the Gwinnett Braves. The new $59-million facility on 12 acres in Gwinnett County, northeast of Atlanta, was designed and built in just over one year. The secret to the fast