New Quarterly Cost Report from Rider Levett Bucknall Charts Construction Trends throughout North America

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Rider Levett Bucknall has released its latest Quarterly Cost Report, providing an eye-opening perspective on the North American construction industry in 14 key markets. The latest report, with data to mid-Q2 2024, shows the national average increase in construction costs was 1.12% over the previous quarter. Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; Denver, Colorado; Honolulu, Hawaii; Los Angeles, California; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco, California and Washington, D.C. experienced increases over the national average this quarter. Denver; Las Vegas, Nevada; New York, New York; Phoenix, Arizona and Seattle, Washington experienced gains that were less than the national average. “The construction industry continues to … Read more

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AGC: Construction Employment Increases in 39 States between July 2023 and July 2024

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Construction employment increased in 39 states in July from a year earlier, while 29 states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs between June and July, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials noted that demand for projects — and the workers to execute them — remains robust in most states but there is a pressing to prepare more people for careers in construction. “Construction employment gains remain widespread, thanks to steady or increasing demand for data centers, manufacturing plants, energy and infrastructure projects,” said Ken Simonson, … Read more

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ABC Releases July Construction Materials Prices Analysis

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Construction input prices increased .4% in July compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors’ analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index data. Nonresidential construction input prices also increased .4% for the month. Overall construction input prices are 1.1% higher than a year ago, while nonresidential construction input prices are .8% higher. Prices increased in all three energy subcategories last month. Natural gas prices were up by 13%, while unprocessed energy materials and crude petroleum prices rose 6% and 5.5%, respectively. “Construction input prices increased in July, ending a streak of two consecutive … Read more

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AGC: Construction Firms Add 25,000 Jobs In July, Unemployment Rate Holds Steady

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The construction sector added 25,000 jobs in July as wage gains continued to outpace increases in the broader economy, according to an analysis of new government data the Associated General Contractors of America released. Association officials said the biggest challenge for the industry remains finding enough workers to keep pace with demand and urged public officials to boost support for construction education and training programs. Construction employment in July totaled 8.3 million, seasonally adjusted, an increase of 25,000 from June. The sector has added 239,000 jobs or 3% during the past 12 months, nearly double the 1.6% increase for total … Read more

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AIA/Deltek Releases Latest Architecture Billings Index

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Business conditions remain soft at architecture firms in June with the AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index reporting a score of 46.4. Any score below 50 indicates that billings decline, although somewhat fewer firms reported a decline in billings in June than in May. Indicators of future work remained generally soft as well: Only slightly more than half of the responding firms reported an increase in inquiries into new work. Firms reported a third consecutive month of decline in value of newly signed design contracts. While many firms still have a healthy backlog of projects in the pipeline, 6.4 months on average, this is the smallest that backlogs have been … Read more

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