AGC: House Highway Bill Will Reform Federal Transport Program, Accelerate Projects, Boost Economy.

GM to construct $200 million stamping facility in Texas – World Construction Network.

Last week’s mildly positive jobs report was bolstered by better-than-usual hiring in an industry hammered by job losses.

Construction firms added 26,000 jobs in September, the most in seven months. The industry trailed only health care, professional and business services, and information in job creation. Overall, U.S. payrolls grew by 103,000 last month, and the unemployment rate held steady at 9.1%, the Labor Department said.

Contractors have added 53,000 jobs this year after losing about 150,000 last year and 2 million in the recession. Their hires lag behind most other industries in percentage terms, but they’ve lifted construction employment to 5.6 million.

Construction officials say the latest gains could herald at least a moderate turnaround next year for a sector decimated by the housing bust and commercial real estate downturn.

“With private-sector demand inching back up, the construction industry is finally on the brink of recovery from years of hardship and job losses,” says Stephen Sandherr, CEO of Associated General Contractors of America, a trade group.

September’s showing was fueled by the non-residential sector, which added 30,000 workers. Construction spending by retailers and electric utilities has been particularly strong lately, Census Bureau figures show. That’s partly due to state renewable energy requirements, but may also reflect rebuilding after Hurricane Irene. Also, many retailers are refurbishing stores after putting off projects the past couple of years, says economist Patrick Newport of IHS Global Insight.

Contractor Reed & Reed of Woolwich, Maine, has hired an additional 35 or so workers this year, bringing its staff to 250, as it scrambles to meet a surge in wind-power construction in New England, says CEO Jack Parker. “We’ve been fortunate,” he says.

Housing starts are still weak, and residential building firms cut 3,800 workers in September.

But both residential and commercial building inventories have shrunk so much that a 2012 rebound is almost inevitable, although it may not arrive until the second half, says IHS’ Michael Montgomery. He predicts construction payrolls will rise by about 200,000 in 2012.

Job growth could suffer from reduced federal infrastructure spending, Sandherr warns. Construction work made up more than half the fiscal 2011 budget cuts by Congress in April., he says.

Source

The industrial construction sector in Polandis seen by construction companies as one that raises the most promising prospects for the construction industry in terms of maintaining sizeable order portfolios after most large road construction contracts come to the conclusion. Observers’ attention is focused on large energy projects, though gas investments are becoming increasingly popular, with a notable participation of shale gas projects.

A study which PMR Research conducted among senior staff of construction companies confirms increasing interest in industrial investment projects, which, in view of a falling number of road construction tenders, are perceived to offer a potential for keeping the growth momentum of the construction sector going. Respondents were asked to express their opinions on several statements describing prospects for the industrial construction sector, which, according to PMR’s classification, includes the construction of power generating units, gas and petrochemical investment projects and the development of production plants and waste incineration plants.

Source

Catching up … this morning from the Census Bureau reported that overall construction spending increased in April:

[C]onstruction spending during April 2011 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $765.0 billion, 0.4 percent (±1.6%) above the revised March estimate of $762.1 billion. The April figure is 9.3 percent (±1.6%) below the April 2010 estimate of $843.1 billion.

Private construction spending also increased in April:

Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $483.0 billion, 1.7 percent (±1.4%) above the revised March estimate of $474.7 billion. Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $232.1 billion in April, 3.1 percent (±1.3%) above the revised March estimate of $225.1 billion. Nonresidential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $250.8 billion in April, 0.5 percent (±1.4%)* above the revised March estimate of $249.6 billion.

This graph shows private residential and nonresidential construction spending since 1993. Note: nominal dollars, not inflation adjusted.

The small increase in non-residential in April was mostly due to power.  Office and lodging construction spending declined.

Residential spending is 65.7% below the peak in early 2006, and non-residential spending is 39.4% below the peak in January 2008.

I expect residential spending to pick up a little this year (mostly multifamily) – and residential will probably be above non-residential spending by the end of the year.

Source

Australia: THE federal government has released the biggest area in more than a decade for offshore petroleum exploration, underscoring the country’s commitment to exploiting its rich endowment of natural resources to cash in on Asia’s surging demand for energy.

Finding new energy reserves is a priority for Australia, which forecasts a trade deficit in crude oil, refined products and liquefied petroleum gas of more than $30 billion by 2015.

Some of the world’s biggest energy projects are under construction off the Pacific nation’s vast coastline, which has proven a fertile hunting ground for exploration in recent decades.

A total of 29 areas in nine basins in Australian waters covering around 200,000 square kilometres have been released, stretching from the West Coast through the Northern waters to Victoria in the south.

Acreage release gives companies the right to bid for exclusivity in searching for oil and gas, but not the right to drill exploration wells or run seismic surveys without further approval.

“The release of acreage is a critical step in maintaining Australia’s energy security,” Martin Ferguson, the government’s minister for resources, energy and tourism, said in Perth.

“The large areas are mostly located in frontier regions. The ‘super-sizing’ of frontier opportunities acknowledges the challenges of exploring in these areas.”

Source

Construction Claims – Oil and Gas Offshort Experts

Private nonresidential construction spending increased 0.9% in February, according to the April 1 report by the U.S. Census Bureau. However, despite February’s monthly performance, private nonresidential construction spending is down 13.2% from the same time last year. Total nonresidential construction spending — which includes both privately and publicly financed construction — stood at $523.2 billion in February, down 0.2% for the month and down 6.3% from February 2010.

Six of the 16 nonresidential construction sectors posted gains in spending on a monthly basis in February, including conservation and development, up 11.3%; manufacturing, up 5.4%; and power, up 2.5%. Five subsectors posted increases from the same time last year, including conservation and development, up 32.4%; highway and street, up 10.6%; and water supply construction, up 6.8%.

Those nonresidential construction sectors posting decreases for the month include water supply, down 5.9%; religious-related, down 3.8%; and educational construction, down 3.4%. The sectors with the largest year-over-year decreases include lodging, down 42%; manufacturing, down 30.1%; and office construction, down 19.9%.

Public nonresidential construction spending slipped 1.1%for the month but is up 0.4% from one year ago. Residential construction spending fell 3.8% in February and 7.8% compared to the same time last year. Overall, total construction spending was down 1.4% in February and down 6.8% from February of last year.

Source

Global construction will outpace GDP growth over the next 10 years, with China and India accounting for 38 percent of the $4.8 trillion increase in output by 2020, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said on Thursday.

After overtaking the US as the biggest construction market in 2010, China’s construction sector will more than double in size to $2.5 trillion by 2020, accounting for a fifth of world construction, PwC said, citing a report it sponsored.

Emerging markets, with their fast-growing populations, accelerating urbanisation and robust economic growth, will account for 55 percent of global construction by 2020, up from 46 percent today, PwC said.

The study, conducted by market research firms Global Construction Perspectives and Oxford Economics, forecasts that $97.7 trillion will be spent on construction globally during the next decade and the sector will expand by 5.2 percent on average every year, outpacing global GDP growth.

The construction sector worldwide currently accounts for more than 11 percent of global GDP and the report predicts that it will account for 13.2 percent of world GDP by 2020.

Just seven countries — China, India, the United States, Indonesia, Canada, Russia and Australia — will account for 65 percent of the growth in global construction to 2020, PwC said.

Spending on construction in India will overtake Japan, which faces the lowest construction growth among developed nations, by 2018, when India will become the world’s third-largest construction market, PwC said.

US TO OUTPERFORM

Construction in most developed countries will be constrained by large public deficits, austerity programmes, slow population growth and limited economic expansion. The United States will be the exception thanks to its growing population, PwC said.

An estimated $14.5 trillion will be spent on construction in the U.S. by 2020, with growth averaging 7.8 percent per year over the next five years, driven by residential and non-residential markets, the PwC-sponsored report said.

But years of underinvestment in U.S. infrastructure are unlikely to come to an end soon given the swelling public sector deficits unless more private investment is used in procurement, the report added.

Canada and Australia will also lead construction growth in developed countries, boosted in particular by demand for natural resources and favourable demographics, PwC said.

The combined growth in construction in Canada and Australia will almost equal growth in the entire Latin American construction market, including Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Colombia, indicating its less bright prospects, PwC said.

Natural resources will play a key role in the Middle East and North Africa, where $4.3 trillion will be spent on construction across the region over the next decade, representing growth of almost 80 percent to 2020, PwC said.

The outlook is less rosy for France, home of the world’s largest public works group Vinci and largest cement maker Lafarge, as well as other Western European countries, which are set to register little construction growth.

Infrastructure in Britain will grow by less than 10 percent by the end of the decade, compared with growth of almost 135 percent in Asian emerging markets, the report said.

Source

New construction starts in December climbed 19% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $450.2 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies.  Nonresidential building rebounded after a weak November, and nonbuilding construction was lifted by the start of several large electric utility projects.  Meanwhile, residential building in December showed slight growth, continuing the gradual upward trend of recent months.  For 2010 as a whole, total construction starts dropped 2% to $412.5 billion, a less severe decline than the 24% plunge for 2009.

The December statistics produced a reading of 95 for the Dodge Index (2000=100), up from November’s 80.  For all of 2010, the Dodge Index came in at 87.  “The construction start statistics during the past year fluctuated over a set range, with December coming in at the high end of that range while November was at the low end,” stated Robert A. Murray, vice president of economic affairs for McGraw-Hill Construction.  “In effect, the pace of contracting has stabilized, after the steep correction of prior years, although renewed expansion for total construction has yet to take hold given this ongoing up-and-down pattern.  The year 2010 did include some positive developments, such as the initial stage of recovery for housing while the rate of descent for commercial building eased.  However, institutional building lost further momentum, and public works construction began to retreat.  For 2011, overall construction activity would benefit if the U.S. economy can show more solid job growth and loan availability improves, but tight government budgets will remain a constraint.” >>more

Construction Expert Services

Seasonally adjusted US construction spending increased +0.4% in November according to the US Census Bureau. The total value of the industry stood at US$ 810 billion for the 12 months to the end of November, compared to US$ 807 billion for the year to October. However, the figure was still -6.0% lower than that of November 2009, when construction spending on a rolling 12-month basis stood at US$ 862 billion.

The biggest gains in November were seen in the public construction sector, which was up +0.7% on October at US$ 318 billion for the rolling year. This figure was also +4.2% higher than the US$ 305 billion spent on public construction in the 12 months to November 2009. The biggest gains in November were in construction of offices, water infrastructure and conservation-related work.

Private sector construction was up +0.3% on October’s figure at US$ 492 billion. However, this was still -11.5% lower than the US$ 556 billion seen for the year to November 2009. Among the growth areas in the most recent month were the power sector and construction in the amusement & recreation industry as well as structures for educational and religious purposes.

November’s rise has been received with cautious optimism by the industry. Ken Simonson, chief economist at the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) said, “It is heartening to see three (monthly) increases in a row, but most categories showed more of a seesaw pattern over the past three months, indicating that construction spending remains fragile at best.”

Patrick Newport, US economist with IHS Global Insight said, “Construction spending may have turned the corner, but a solid rebound is months away.”

Source

Construction Cost Estimating Services