Overall, construction materials prices fell 0.5 percent in November and are up 1.1 percent year over year, according to the Department of Labor's Dec. 13 Producer Price Index. Nonresidential construction materials are down 0.6 percent for the month and are 0.7 percent lower than the same time last year. “November represented another month of remarkable stability for construction input prices,” said Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Although many investors predicted significant inflation this year due to expansionary monetary policies in much of the developed world, there continues to be a lack of significant inflationary pressures both globally […]

A dozen product committees and councils gathered to discuss industry standards and regulatory issues during the Construction Equipment Standards and Regulations Committee meeting Nov. 19-20 in Schiller Park, Ill.  AEM provided member company representatives with crucial information on a proposed rule that could adversely affect the design and application of many construction equipment products. Members of AEM's Construction Equipment Standards & Regulations Committee heard from Henry Chajet, a partner with Jackson Lewis LLP, on the potential implications of the Occupational Safety & Health Administration's proposed crystalline silica exposure rule. According to OSHA, about 2.2 million workers are exposed to “respirable” […]

TUCSON, Ariz. — What are the major trends likely to affect the green building industry and markets in the US in 2014? As one of the world’s leading green building consultants, keynote speakers and authors, Jerry Yudelson thinks he knows the answers. In fact, his Top 10 list of green building megatrends has become an annual event. At the top of Yudelson’s 2014 list is the prediction that green building in North America will continue its strong growth in 2014, with the ongoing expansion of commercial real estate construction together with government, university, nonprofit and school construction. “Green building is […]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Brasfield & Gorrie is utilizing numerous innovative tools and techniques in construction of Grandview Medical Center in Birmingham, Ala., in a fitting nod to the hospital's future as a center of innovation. Brasfield & Gorrie first began construction in 2002 on the 12-story hospital building on Highway 280, completing the infrastructure and exterior shell, as well five floors of interior space, when prior owners of the hospital shuttered the project. A decade later, as Trinity Medical Center won a long-fought battle to complete the hospital and relocate its services there, Brasfield & Gorrie is now finishing the […]