News

Last week, Deloitte released a midyear update of its 2020 Engineering & Construction Outlook, noting three distinctive trends the adjacent industries are seeing that will likely influence how work is done for years to come. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 23, 2020)—The Q2 2020 USG Corporation + United States Chamber of Commerce Commercial Construction Index (Index) plunged from 74 in Q1 to 56 in Q2.

WASHINGTON (June 24, 2020)—Demand for design services in May saw few signs of rebounding following a record drop in billings the month prior, according to a new report from The American Institute of Architects (AIA).

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Gilbane Inc. announced that William J. Gilbane III, fifth generation family member and former senior vice president of the New York division of Gilbane Building Company, has been elected to Gilbane, Inc.'s board of directors.

WASHINGTON—Associated Builders and Contractors announced it is partnering with the United States Chamber of Commerce on a national initiative to address inequality of opportunity.

San Francisco Bay Area-based construction information manager BarkerBlue Inc., recently announced the promotion of Mike Carlson to director of sales of BarkerBlue Build.

Carlson first joined BarkerBlue in 2013, bringing past sales experience in technology and litigation document support sales.

He has been instrumental in growing digital-asset partnerships that have helped his clients build major projects on time and at budget. 

NATIONAL—President Trump and his administration are working on an infrastructure proposal worth almost $1 trillion aimed at giving the volatile United States economy a much-needed boost. 

The existing infrastructure plan—the FAST Act—which authorized $305 billion over a 5-year term, will expire at the end of September.

LOS ANGELES (June 15, 2020) — AECOM announced the appointment of W. Troy Rudd to chief executive officer (CEO). Currently AECOM’s chief financial officer, Rudd will assume the role from Michael S. Burke, who previously announced his plans to retire.

New home construction in the United States showed a positive return in May—good news after several months of decreasing numbers due in part to the coronavirus pandemic. 

In particular, a rebound in permits for future home construction (up 14.4%) showed promise that the industry might be coming out of a slump. The statistic is often an indicator of future activity and the overall health of the economy.

New York City—The Marcum Commercial Construction Index for the first quarter of 2020 reports an industry suffering the adverse effects of COVID-19. Construction employment fell by nearly one million jobs from March to April 2020, a decrease of 12.8%. The industry’s unemployment rate increased from 6.9% in March to 16.6% in April, the highest level since early 2012.

New York City launched phase one of its reopening plan this week, including the restart of all construction projects deemed nonessential. City officials estimate this applies to approximately 23,000 construction sites.

The news is long awaited for many construction executives and management teams—since March, the only construction projects allowed to continue on schedule were those deemed essential (health care, infrastructure updates, etc.). 

Last week, President Trump signed into law a new bill that effectively relaxes Paycheck Protection Program loan requirements for many small businesses—the Paycheck Protection Forgiveness Act. 

The law allows businesses a bit more leeway concerning where the money coming from the loans, part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, are spent, as well as a few other key points. Here's what you need to know: 

WASHINGTON—The construction industry added 464,000 net new jobs in May, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. May represented the largest monthly increase in construction jobs since the government began tracking employment in 1939, a drastic improvement from April, which recorded the industry’s largest month-over-month job loss.

Construction spending dropped 2.9% in April, according to data released this week by the United States Commerce Department. The department cited the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and project shutdowns across the country as the drivers behind the decrease. 

WASHINGTON—As the nation faces the coronavirus pandemic, the United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is dedicated to keeping the American workforce safe and healthy. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Loren Sweatt testified before the House Education and Labor Committee’s Workforce Protections Subcommittee about the agency’s role during the crisis.

WASHINGTON—The United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued an alert listing steps employers can follow to implement social distancing in the workplace and to help protect workers from exposure to the coronavirus.

Safety measures employers can implement include:

Birmingham, Ala. (May 28, 2020)—Construction Business Owner, the leading business magazine for contractors, is pleased to announce a free webinar presented in partnership with Viewpoint.

The live, online event, “Using Data Analytics to Scale Your Business for the Future” will take place June 25, 2020, at 2 p.m. EDT, and will help business owners improve operations by better understanding and utilizing the company’s data.

(May 20, 2020)—Every year, Engineering News-Record (ENR) rounds up the best-performing contractors of the year in its list of the Top 400 Contractors. Published annually in May, the list ranks the 400 general contractors, both publicly and privately held, based on construction contracting-specific revenue.

This year, despite unpredictability and sharp turns in the market, some larger contractors are still hanging tough. Here’s a quick recap of the top 10:

Birmingham, Ala. (May 26, 2020)—Construction Business Owner, the leading business magazine for contractors, is pleased to announce a free webinar presented in partnership with AvidXchange.

The live, online event, “The Problem with Paper: 5 Ways Accounts Payable Automation Can Help” will take place June 18, 2020, at 4 p.m. EDT, and will explore how accounts payable (AP) technology can help construction businesses create new efficiencies and supercharge productivity.

WASHINGTON—Demand for design services in April saw its steepest decline on record, according to a new report from The American Institute of Architects (AIA).