Construction Job Openings Increased in March; Demand for Labor Remains Strong

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The construction industry had 396,000 job openings in March, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Industry job openings increased by 13,000 in March and are up 60,000 from the same time last year. Construction workers quit their jobs at a faster rate than they were laid off or discharged in March, with the quits rate of 3.2% well above the layoffs and discharges rate of 1.6%. March represented the 13th consecutive month in which quits outpaced or equaled layoffs and discharges. “The March JOLTS data reflect a labor … Read more

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Nonresidential Construction Spending Down 1% in March

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National nonresidential construction spending was down 0.8% in March, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors’ analysis of data published by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $839.2 billion for the month. Spending was down on a monthly basis in 11 of 16 nonresidential subcategories. Private nonresidential spending was down 1.2%, while public nonresidential construction spending was down 0.3% in March. On a year-over-year basis, nonresidential construction spending is up 5.6%, led by 31.9% growth in construction related to manufacturing. “March’s construction spending numbers aren’t adjusted for inflation and are actually worse than … Read more

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April Consigli Market Update

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Consigli Construction has released its latest market update. The hopeful trend toward price stabilization and supply chain improvements in early 2022 is now complicated by new challenges. The war in Ukraine has reduced the supply of raw materials, port congestion from China to Los Angeles continues to delay shipments on all goods, while new COVID-19 variants have continued, leading to a forecasted overall escalation of 7-9%. The market report highlighted the following trends: ► Product Availability – Overall demand for materials will remain high with supply moderately low. A recent COVID-19 outbreak in China is slowing chip manufacturing due to … Read more

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Construction Cost Escalation Continues to be Fueled by Volatility in Material and Labor Markets

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Turner Construction Company’s First Quarter Building Cost Index—which measures costs in the non-residential building construction market in the United States—had increased to the value of 1255. This represents a 2.03% quarterly increase from the fourth quarter 2021 and a 7.08% yearly increase from the first quarter 2021. “Overall Supply Chain stability and the ‘return-to-normal’ state has not yet been established. Some key materials continue to be in short supply due to supply chain disruptions in manufacturing and computer chip shortages. Higher transportation costs are due to the rising price of gasoline and diesel fuels,” said Attilio Rivetti, the Turner vice … Read more

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Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s Survey of Economic Activity: Monthly Leasing and Finance Index

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The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s Monthly Leasing and Finance Index showed its overall new business volume for March was $10.6 billion, up 14% year-over-year from new business volume in March 2021. Volume was up 49% month-to-month from $7.1 billion in February. Year-to-date, cumulative new business volume was up 5% compared to 2021. Receivables over 30 days were 1.5%, down from 1.7% the previous month and down from 1.9% in the same period in 2021. Charge-offs were 0.10%, up from 0.09% the previous month and down from 0.43% in the year-earlier period. Credit approvals totaled 78.3%, up from 78.2% in … Read more

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