IHS Global Insight Construction's growth rate by region. Related Links: Details of IHS's study can be found in its Jan. 19 webcast at Execs Are Hopeful But Challenged in KPMG Global Market Outlook The global construction market expanded by 2.1% in 2011 and should grow by 3.0% in 2012, reaching an annual total of $6.0 trillion, according to an analysis by IHS Global Insight, an Englewood, Colo.-based economic consulting and forecasting group. IHS believes the global market still faces uncertainties, but there are signs that worldwide construction is beginning to recover after a few tumultuous years.Overall, IHS says construction in

Related Links: Complete Top Owners Sourcebook Package: Overview, Rankings and Sector Reports (pdf) 1Duke Energy Corp., Charlotte, N.C.49007,015.0+313,177-3758,539+62Dominion Resources Inc., Richmond, Va.49005,050.0+24819-7739,855+23AT&T Inc., Dallas, Texas48004,980.0+581,741+10125,979+74El Paso Corp., Houston, Texas49004,800.0+333,611+4544,493+95Southern Co., Atlanta, Ga.49004,775.0+153,825-962,176+76The AES Corp., Arlington, Va.49004,459.0-4289+52,215+157Verizon Communications Inc., New York, N.Y.48004,375.0+31-428-14121,064-28Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Bentonville, Ark.53004,262.0-185,394NM79,051+79NextEra Energy Inc., Juno Beach, Fla.49003,841.0+584,052-1354,221+810Dow Chemical Co., Midland, Mich.28003,463.0+72-369-1334,442-811Edison International, Rosemead, Calif.49003,291.0+223,210-431,097+1212Las Vegas Sands Corp., Las Vegas, Nev.79003,147.8-443,984+57710,882+5813American Electric Power Co Inc., Columbus, Ohio49002,758.0-92,056+453,740+414Intel Corp., Santa Clara, Calif.36002,639.0-6NANANANA15Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick, N.J.28002,577.0+2216-819,079+216Google Inc., Mountain View, Calif.73002,329.0+42NANANANA17Valero Energy Corp., San Antonio, Texas29002,303.0-1557-591,067+618Progress Energy Inc., Raleigh, N.C.49002,205.0+231,498-1332,807+519Alcoa Inc., New York, N.Y.33002,192.0-101,085-6011,627+1020Walt Disney Co., Burbank, Calif.48002,180.0+61-49NA644-721PPL Corp.,

Related Links: ENR Top Owners Sourcebook: Overview, Rankings and Sector Reports As the construction recession continues to drag on, industry firms continue to look to their clients to see when the downturn will end. While many owners believe the worst is past, most acknowledge there will be no quick turnaround in construction or capital spending in the near future. When the market does turn around in a big way, owners worry about who will be there to take up the burden of rebuilding the nation's industrial and public infrastructure.As part of its overview of owners, ENR once again is presenting

The difficulties of the recession are nowhere more evident than among subcontractors and the specialty trade contractors who actually perform, rather than just manage, most of a project's work. For many specialty contractors, calling this market difficult is the understatement of the year. But opportunities exist for larger contractors that know where to find them and how to take advantage of them.The ENR Top 600 Specialty Contractors list shows both the wrenching effects of a recessionary market and

Related Links: COST REPORT: View Complete Report with Data and Analysis Slim Margins and Uncertainty Making Inflation Dangerous Flat, One-Year Pacts Highlight Collective Bargaining in 2011 Workers' Comp Rates Start to Climb Construction Equipment Prices Inch Back Up Given that the construction industry is a trailing economic indicator, industry executives are keenly aware of the state of the American economy. With recent news full of gloom, from consistently high unemployment rates to gridlock in Washington over raising the debt ceiling, industry confidence in the economy has taken a nosedive, reducing optimism that the construction market will recover any time soon.This

This summer was supposed to be when the construction market would turn around, but that has not been the case for most industry firms. More and more, the industry is sensing that summer 2011 will fare no better than 2010's or 2009's “summer of recovery.” With concerns about not just the health of the construction market but also the American economy as a whole, industry confidence is beginning to fall. Related Links: Hard Times Draw the Line For Bargaining Contractors Hold The Line on Pay How John Deere's New Hybrid Wheel Loaders Get Their Juice Creating Cash From Trash Floods

Australia is quickly becoming the destination of choice among large U.S. contractors. It has yielded some of the world’s largest projects, centered on the country’s natural resources. Photo: Coutesy Of Bechtel Related Links: The Top 400 Contractors: At a Glance For example, Bechtel is working on four liquefied natural-gas projects there, including Queens-land Curtis, Gladstone LNG and Australia Pacific, all located on Curtis Island off Australia’s east coast. The firm is also working on Chevron’s Wheatstone LNG project in northeast Australia. “All these are multibillion-dollar projects,” says Bill Dudley, Bechtel’s president. Fluor is working on the Gladstone project and, in

The data-center market, especially for web hosting, is one of the few truly hot markets in this recession. It also is one of the most secretive, mostly for security reasons and to keep competitors at bay. Thus, it is a little unusual for DPR Construction to be releasing the plans for two new Facebook data centers. Photo: Courtesy Of DPR Construction Related Links: The Top 400 Contractors: At a Glance On April 7, Facebook announced it would release details of its server configurations, including mechanical and electrical plans for its 147,000-sq-ft data center in Prineville, Ore., to the open-source community.

Primoris Services Corp. was created in 2006 with West Coast contractor ARB Inc. as its major subsidiary. Shortly thereafter, it went public. Photo: Courtesy Primoris Services Corp. Related Links: The Top 400 Contractors: At a Glance But Primoris really took off at the end of 2009. It acquired James Construction Group (JCG), Baton Rouge, La., from Angelo Iafrate Construction Co., Warren, Mich., for $135 million. Last November, it acquired Hillsboro, Ore.-based pipeline contractor Rockford Corp. for $82.6 million. With these acquisitions, Primoris is no longer primarily a West Coast firm; now, it is a $1-billion con-tractor whose reach stretches from

Groundwater and airborne volatile organic compound emissions are regulated by myriad rules from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Industrial owners complying with EPA rules generally treat airborne emissions by using activated carbon filters and burning the residue. Waterborne emissions are frequently treated through biotreatment with organisms. Photo: Courtesy Environ Related Links: The Top 500 Design Firms: 2010-2011 at a Glance Why not consolidate the approach, says Carl Adams, global leader for industrial wastewater treatment at ENVIRON International. “Why have two processes to treat one problem?” he asks. ENVIRON launched its VOC BioTreat� process in 2010, which pipes biodegradable airborne VOCs