(April 7, 2014) - Of the approximately 350 metro markets nationwide, 59 returned to or exceeded their last normal levels of economic and housing activity, according to the National Association of Home Builders/First American Leading Markets Index (LMI). This represents a net gain of 11 metros year over year.
PORTLAND, ORE. –(April 7, 2014) – Across the country, states and cities are implementing policies that require commercial buildings to be benchmarked based on energy usage. Progressive cities like New York and San Francisco are now going one step further and requiring periodic energy audits. These policies are creating a new demand for energy auditors, which PECI, a nonprofit leader in the energy efficiency industry, is helping to meet with a new Energy Auditor Training program.
DALLAS (April 7, 2014) –McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., a Texas builder for 35 years, was awarded the No. 3 ranking on the Dallas Business Journal's Healthiest Employers in North Texas list and the No. 1 ranking on the Houston Business Journal's Houston’s Healthiest Employers list for its Dallas and Houston offices having committed to health initiatives and providing top wellness programs. Numerical rankings for each honored company were announced this spring for the 2014 winners.
RACINE, WIS. (April 1, 2014) - CASE Construction Equipment has entered into a strategic partnership with Leica Geosystems to provide machine control technologies – both factory installed and aftermarket – throughout its line of construction equipment. The agreement also includes a commitment to shared product development, and is part of a global alliance between Leica Geosystems and CNH Industrial.
Birmingham, Ala. (March 27, 2014) – Brasfield & Gorrie announced that the company and its chief executive officer have been honored by Waste Management for environmental sustainability. Waste Management awarded Brasfield & Gorrie and CEO Jim Gorrie its 2013 Sustainability Circle of Excellence Award, which recognizes outstanding diversion and recycling achievement in the construction industry.
DOYLESTOWN, PA (MARCH 27, 2014) – Thomas Robinette,Chicago-area demolition industry veteran and former president of the National Demolition Association (NDA), was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award for the influential role he has played in the evolution of the industry.
(March 28, 2014) - Construction firms added jobs in 37 states over the past 12 months and in 30 states between January and February according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data. Association officials said the jobs gains came even as many parts of the country experienced unusually severe winter weather, include cold and snowy conditions in the Northeast and Midwest, and warm and unusually dry conditions in much of the Southwest.
New York, NY (March 2014) – The Board of Directors of AIAI – the Association for the Improvement of American Infrastructure is proud to support the Building and Renewing Infrastructure for Development and Growth in Employment (BRIDGE) Act.
RALEIGH, N.C. (March 27, 2014) – FMI, a provider of management consulting and investment banking* to the engineering and construction industry, released its Q1-2014 Construction Outlook. The forecast continues to show optimistic growth. As a whole, construction-put-in-place is predicted to increase 8 percent in 2014, with continued growth over the next few years.
Select market predictions include:
WASHINGTON (March 25, 2014) — The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s (ELFA) Monthly Leasing and Finance Index (MLFI-25), which reports economic activity from 25 companies representing a cross section of the $827 billion equipment finance sector, showed their overall new business volume for February was $5.4 billion, up 15 percent from new business volume in February 2013.
(March 24, 2014) - Last year was a good year for the equipment rental industry. According to the American Rental Association’s (ARA) Rental Market Monitor, North American equipment rental revenue totaled $38 billion in 2013, with the U.S. reporting revenue of $33.3 billion and Canada adding an additional $4.7 billion. This represents a 6.4 percent growth rate over 2012. The construction and industrial equipment rental segment is the largest segment with U.S.
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (March 24, 2014) – Chicago Pneumatic announces their partnership with Florida-based Christy Rental Associates. The relationship between Chicago Pneumatic and Christy Rental Associates officially began on March 1, 2014.
(March 24, 2014) - KOBELCO created only five limited edition SK350LC crawler excavators wrapped in a patriotic/military design as part of a WWP fundraiser, and displayed one at the recent Las Vegas construction industry trade show, ConExpo/ConAgg.
SAN DIEGO (March 19, 2014) – Biomedical science students and faculty striving to solve the world’s most critical health problems now have access to one of the most sustainable laboratories in the country with the completion of the new Health Sciences Biomedical Research Facility at the University of California, San Diego, (UCSD) in La Jolla. A dedication ceremony was held March 6th to celebrate the completion.
WASHINGTON (March 21, 2014) – The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation (the Foundation) has released the March 2014 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI). Designed to collect leadership data, the index reports a qualitative assessment of both the prevailing business conditions and expectations for the future as reported by key executives from the $827 billion equipment finance sector.
McCONNELLSBURG, PA. (March 18, 2014) - JLG Industries, Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation company and a global leading manufacturer of aerial work platforms and telescopic material handlers, announced that the company was selected by United Rentals as “Strategic Supplier of the Year.” The company also won this award in 2010.
(March 18, 2014) - Nationwide housing starts were virtually unchanged in February, inching down 0.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 907,000 units, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau.
(March 13, 2014) - Gray Construction of Lexington, Ky. was named the nation’s safest construction company in 2013 by the Associated General Contractors of America. The association, which oversees the Willis Construction Safety Excellence Awards, an annual ranking of construction safety programs, noted that 51 other companies were selected as winners for the quality of their safety programs.
March 17, 2014 - Builder confidence in the market for newly-built, single-family homes rose one point to 47 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released recently.
“The March HMI mirrors last month’s sentiment, as builders continued to be affected by poor weather and difficulties in finding lots and labor,” said NAHB Chairman Kevin Kelly, a home builder and developer from Wilmington, Del.
CHICAGO, IL (March 17, 2014) - Eric S. Kline, PCS, Charles W. Roeder, P.E., Raymond H.R. Tide, D.Sc., Christopher Higgins, Ph.D., P.E., John Moebes, James M. Ricles, Ph.D., P.E., Michael Culmo, P.E., William Wood, Dr. Eng., and Terry M. Zwick are receiving distinguished achievement awards from the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) for their exceptional contributions to the advancement of the structural steel design and construction industry.