ABC of the Carolinas Presents Eagle Awards During National Legislative Conference
The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of the Carolinas presented members of Congress with the prestigious “Champion of the Merit Shop” Eagle Award. These awards are given to legislators with an 80 percent or better voting record on ABC’s key issues during the previous session of Congress. Awards were presented at the 2017 ABC National…
Commercial Construction Index Forecasts Healthy 2017
Contractors in the U.S. commercial construction industry are optimistic about the current state and forward-looking health of the sector, noting a healthy balance of project backlog and projected growth, which indicates overall strength and confidence in the market. Results from the three leading indicators used to compute the USG + U.S. Chamber of Commerce Commercial…
Help Wanted: A Sign of the Times in Construction Part 2
This is the second part in a series of articles about our two-state region’s labor shortage issues and workforce needs. Part 1 provided an overview of the problem through the eyes of local construction industry executives. In Part 2, these same executives and others talk about what their organizations are doing separately and together to…
TECHnically Speaking | Technology in Preconstruction
This is the first installment of a three-part series where Balfour Beatty-Carolinas explores the innovation that technology brings to the life of a project – before, during, and after construction. The Innovation and Technology team at Balfour Beatty Construction is building entire projects without ever lacing up their work boots and often times before the…
Safety Risks Increasing for Highway Work Zones
According to a new report the risks workers and motorists face in highway construction zones is increasing significantly. Forty-four percent of highway contractors reported that motor vehicles had crashed into their construction work zones during the past year, according to the results of a new highway work zone study conducted by the Associated General Contractors…
Help Wanted: A Sign of the Times in Construction
This is the first in a series of articles about our two-state region’s labor shortage issues and workforce needs. When asked about their No. 1 business concern, both general and specialty contractors from across the Carolinas overwhelmingly give the same answer: the current and future workforce shortage. There are simply not enough people with the…
Housing Production Drops 2.6 Percent in April, as Multifamily Starts Fall
Led by a decline in multifamily production, nationwide housing starts fell 2.6 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.17 million units, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Commerce Department. Multifamily starts fell 9.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of…
Construction Employment Increases, but Shortages Loom
Construction employment increased by 5,000 jobs in April 2017 to the highest level in more than nine years amid strong demand for new construction services, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. However, AGC officials cautioned that a shortage of available qualified workers likely limited the number of…
Construction Spending Dips in March
Construction spending dipped slightly in March, just one month after building activity hit an all-time high. According to the Commerce Department, construction spending slipped 0.2 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted $1.218 trillion. Last month, construction spending rose 1.8 percent to a record high of $1.22 trillion. “Construction spending totals during the past two months are at…
Contractor Confidence Ends 2016 Down but Still in Positive Territory
Expectations for the construction industry 2017 are less optimistic, but the majority of industrial and commercial construction contractors still expect to experience growth this year, according to the latest Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Construction Confidence Index (CCI). Although all three diffusion indices in the survey — profit margins, sales and staffing levels—fell by more than five…
