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The producer price index (PPI) for final demand in September, not seasonally adjusted, increased 0.4% from August and 2.6% year-over-year (y/y) from September 2016, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Thursday. AGC posted tables and an explanation focusing on construction prices and costs. Final demand includes goods, services and five types of nonresidential buildings that BLS says make up 34% of total construction.
Reshaping the Construction Industry
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When employees separate from a company, even for a short period of time, they are no longer engaged in mastering their craft. This begins a downward spiral of forgetting. Once rehired, craft workers are often rushed back into full production on jobs and required to “re-hone” skills in a chaotic environment driven by project timelines or the initial project start-up.
October 19, 2017
Attorneys for workers who were denied overtime pay because of the way they were compensated by a major Canadian oil and gas company have settled a lawsuit in Colorado for nearly $2 million. Attorneys’ fees of $693,000 were also approved by a federal judge in Denver.
October 18, 2017
Governor Jerry Brown, on Saturday, issued a statement saying that he was signing Assembly bill 1701. According to the signing letter, “This bill would extend the liability against a general contractor for wages owed to workers of a subcontractor and create new wage collection remedies for private non-public work projects.” The bill as signed will be effective on January 1, 2018.
October 17, 2017
Associated General Contractors Houston is firmly committed to the efforts of creating a sustainable workforce in the commercial construction industry. We are equally committed to not only growing the capacity of the minority contracting community, but also to assisting those companies in achieving long-term success. One thing I have found out in participating on the committees, boards and task forces associated with both of these worthwhile initiatives, is that it is important that all involved engage and acknowledge in what we know and what we don’t know.
October 16, 2017
The national construction industry added 8,000 net new jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis in September, according to an analysis by Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of last week’s release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The nonresidential sector added 11,700 jobs for the month, which means that residential construction lost several thousand jobs. Nonresidential specialty trade contractors paced the segment, adding 8,500 net new jobs on a monthly basis.
October 13, 2017
The economy is growing at 3.1 percent. That is the good news. The recent hurricanes in Texas and Florida flooded or destroyed thousands of homes and buildings. That is not good news for the country. Demand for construction materials for reconstruction has spiked and that is on top of an already robust marketplace. What response would you expect from the materials manufacturers in light of improving conditions? If you said, “Raise prices.” You would be correct.
October 12, 2017
When Masters Champions Jackie Burke and Jimmy Demaret built the Champions Club in Houston in the 50s, they wanted to attract members with both character strength and competency, who played golf and life by rules, so that the club would become a community of trust and skill. And to symbolize this, they installed full-length lockers that close but do not lock. Today Rolexes, TAG Heuers, credit cards and wads of bills are left in lockers that don’t lock. They have never had a theft.
October 11, 2017
Competition for skilled workers in this industry is becoming as fierce as it has ever been. In fact, some general contractors in Texas have started hosting happy hours for subcontractors, proving once again just how tight the labor market is. Folks are willing to try new things to try to lock down a reliable labor force in one of the tightest markets we've seen.
October 10, 2017
Nonfarm payroll employment in September declined by 33,000, seasonally adjusted, from August but increased by 1,777,000 (1.2%) year-over-year (y/y), the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. The unemployment rate fell to 4.2% from 4.4% in August. BLS noted, "A sharp employment decline in food services and drinking places and below-trend growth in some other industries likely reflected the impact of Hurricanes Irma and Harvey."
October 09, 2017
