Thursday, November 29, 2007

ConExpo-Con/Agg to focus on safety


You often read about MSHA fatalities on this blog. Well, new additions to the CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2008 exhibition will focus on industry safety training and the need for a qualified industry workforce. The triennial show will be held March 11-15, 2008 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
• A special Safety Zone exhibit area will feature live demonstrations and information resources focused on jobsite safety.
• Show sponsor National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) will hold its first ever Mixer Driver World Cup competition at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2008, designed to recognize the exceptional talent and skills of ready mixed concrete mixer drivers from around the world.
• Show sponsor Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) will hold the finals of its first ever teen-oriented Construction Challenge at the show, with the goal of spurring interest in construction industry careers and spotlighting industry contributions to quality of life such as good roads and clean water.

In the show’s Safety Zone area, exhibiting groups include U.S. federal government organizations such as MSHA and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) will also be on hand with its Click It campaign, which demonstrates proper techniques for wearing full-body harnesses in boom type aerial work platforms. The “zone” is open during the run of the show, located west of the outdoors Blue Lot.

NRMCA’s driver championship is an extension of the association’s Ready Mixed Truck Driver of the Year award, which recognizes driver career achievements, safety, professionalism, competence and customer service. The Mixer Driver World Cup competition at the show involves driving a challenge course, performing a walk-around visual inspection and completing a written examination. Awards will be presented for winner and second and third place finishers. The event takes place March 12, with the driving challenge and inspection in the outdoors Orange Lot.

AEM’s Construction Challenge is part of the association’s efforts to attract the best and brightest young people into the construction industry in professions ranging from manufacturing to in-the-field careers. Some 50 teams are expected to compete in three areas: awareness of construction-related jobs, construction equipment and manufacturing, and infrastructure awareness. Among the prizes are industry-related scholarships. The competition takes place March 11 -13, 2008 near the AEM booth indoors in the Lobby area.

Full details on these efforts and other CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2008 information are online at www.conexpoconagg.com or phone 414-298-4141 or 800-867-6060 (toll free North America) or fax 414-272-2672. Your comment?

Labels: , ,

Friday, November 16, 2007

Construction forecast


The outlook for construction spending weakened slightly since last month for the end of 2007 and the early part of 2008 due to a second round of tightening of credit approval standards and increases in commercial mortgage rates, according to Reed Construction Data. Some spending will be lost and some will be pushed out until later next year or into 2009. Reed Construction Data (RCD) expects total construction spending, including project cost increases, to increase about 0.5% in the final quarter of 2007, with a 2.2% decline for the full year. Then the spending pace gradually picks up to yield a 5.7% rise in 2008 and a 10.4% gain in 2009.

Residential
New residential construction spending will decline through year end, possibly into early 2008 and then begin a slow recovery from the 35% drop over the past two years. Half of the decline in dollar value and about 40% of the decline in housing starts will be recovered by 2009, which still leaves the housing market in a depressed state for contractors and their suppliers.

Non-residential Building
Non-residential construction spending has grown 55% since January 2004 with a further 20% expansion projected by the end of 2009. Market growth that peaked at an 18% annual rate from spring, 2006 through spring, 2007 has now slipped to 13% in the second half of 2007 and will progressively slow to about 6% by the end of 2009. The slowdown in spending is matched by slower growth in new project starts reported by Reed Construction Data.

Heavy/Engineering Construction
Heavy/engineering construction spending will continue to grow in 2008 to 2009 at the same 12% pace recorded in 2006 to 2007. This expansion is weaker than for non-residential building. The growth in nominal dollars is smaller and project cost inflation is much higher because so much of the material used at job sites is priced in extremely strong world commodity markets. The relatively slower expansion is also partly due to the slim growth in both federal and state highway trust funds that rely on fuel taxes at a fixed rate per gallon. Inflation does not boost these tax receipts as it does for commercial building rental rates. Your comment?
.

Labels: , , ,

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Fatality #29


According to MSHA's latest fatality report, on October 25, 2007, a 19-year-old contractor ironworker with 20 weeks of experience was fatally injured at a cement operation. The victim was standing on 2 x 10 x 72-in. planks that were nailed to cross members and placed across a 48-in. diameter hole where a duct was to be installed. Several of the planks dislodged and he fell approximately 75 ft. Your comment?

Labels: , , ,

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

High non-res states


Ten states account for 52 percent of non-residential building construction starts this year through September, according to Reed Construction Data. Starts are up 18 percent in these states from a year ago, about the same as the 17 percent gain for the U.S. as a whole. What happens on job sites in these states will determine whether the non-residential building boom continues, pauses at a high level or reverses. Both the current market situation and outlook vary significantly among the 10 states.

California
Building activity has increased more than 50 percent so far this year in California in spite of a subpar economic environment, according to almost every significant measure. Part of the surge is renewed public spending after a cash crisis forced drastic cuts a few years ago. Part of the surge is also to accommodate servicing the soaring trade with Asia, which requires a high ratio of space to jobs. The current high growth rate is unsustainable, but will persist into 2008. The weak economic environment will take its toll within a year. Note that California is becoming more like New York and Massachusetts and less like Florida and Texas. New space for more people is now less significant. Improved space for wealthier people is now more significant.

Texas
All of the economic environment measures in Texas are among the strongest in the U.S. Therefore, the surge in non-residential construction activity will strengthen before it begins to ebb in 2009 or later. Texas is the new California or Florida. Low costs are attracting new jobs and workers. Development follows quickly because permitting is relatively quick and inexpensive. Oil and natural gas royalties have pushed state budget reserves to five-times-higher than the rest of the country. This provides funds for expanded public building. The Texas boom is heavily dependent on foreign immigration, much of it illegal, and is at risk to tougher border enforcement. The Texas boom has not spilled into Arkansas or into Oklahoma, but it has spilled into New Mexico, where non-residential construction starts in the last three months are 74 percent higher than a year ago.

Florida
Non-residential construction spending is growing twice as fast in Florida as in the rest of the country in spite of a construction economic environment that has faded to about average-plus. High costs and hurricanes have reduced Florida’s population growth. Also, the largest decline in housing starts in the country is further dampening population immigration and economic growth. Public construction is being supported by a high state budget reserve, but the recent drop in state tax collections is a threat to spending a year ahead. The non-residential building boom is being boosted by the development of destination sites, as in Las Vegas. Money earned anywhere in the world funds this development.

New York
New York construction activity is still being boosted by 9/11 replacement projects. However, also note that New York has had no decline in housing permits, which means no fall-off in the need for neighborhood services space. The construction economic environment in New York is about average with out-migration the only significant negative. Credit the strong market in New York to the booming investment industry. Bonuses paid in the industry are maintaining homebuilding. Investment industry profits are driving the demand for improved non-residential space. This momentum will be considerably less in 2008.

Illinois
The economic environment for construction in Illinois is slightly subpar, but better than in the rest of the industrial Midwest. Credit this to Illinois’ diversified economy — agriculture, machinery, finance and business services. Non-residential construction starts have only increased enough this year to cover rising project costs. Expect a modest amount of real growth over the next year.

Georgia
The economic environment for construction is clearly above average in Georgia, but non-residential construction activity is declining. The housing collapse has hit Atlanta relatively harder than the rest of the U.S. But overbuilding in the past is the primary reason for the recent weakness in construction. Developers were tardy in adjusting to Georgia’s slowing job and population growth rates as the state became expensive relative to Tennessee and South Carolina. Serious water supply problems have the potential to slow development further.

Ohio
This year’s building boom in Ohio is happening in an economy with no increase in jobs and continuing out-migration. Some of the new space is catch up, some is a deliberate attempt at economic pump priming and some is activity attracted from now-more-expensive neighboring states. The boom is not sustainable, although it may last well into 2008.

Pennsylvania
The economic environment for construction in Pennsylvania is subpar, but has so far had only a modest impact on non-residential building starts. More declines are ahead. The state is picking up economic activity in the east from more expensive New Jersey and New York, but losing economic activity in the west to less expensive Ohio.

Indiana
The economic environment for construction is subpar in Indiana. Therefore, the 13.8 percent drop in non-residential building starts so far in 2007 is consistent with economic conditions. That Indiana is on the list of the ten largest states at all is because of a strong farm and industrial economy in 2004 to 2006.

North Carolina
The economic environment for construction is well above average in North Carolina, but this has not yet been reflected in non-residential building starts, which are down 9.1 percent so far this year. The outlook is for rising starts soon. Your comment?

Labels: , , ,