Construction Spending Inches Up in March

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Construction spending inched up in March 2012 to an annualized rate of $808 billion, up 0.1 percent compared to the previous month and is now 6 percent above year ago levels, according to a new analysis of federal data released by the Associated General Contractors of America. The overall gains mask divergent trends however, as public sector construction activity continues to decline while private sector demand for new construction continues to strengthen. “Private and public sector demand for construction appear to be heading along two distinct directions,” said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. “While it is great to see … Read more

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Groundbreaking Marks Major Step for $94M Hospital Expansion Project at Scripps Encinitas

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ENCINITAS, Calif. — Expansion plans at Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas took a major step forward with a groundbreaking of a Critical Care Building, which will more than double the size of the hospital’s current emergency department and increase the number of medical-surgical beds by 43 percent. The Critical Care Building is the centerpiece of the hospital’s $94-million second phase of expansion, which also includes a new central energy plant and various infrastructure improvements on and around the medical campus. The population of the hospital’s surrounding area has increased by more than 20 percent during the past decade, according to the … Read more

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Partnership Aims to End Deadly Falls on Nation’s Construction Sites

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Laborers’ International Union of North America recently joined forces with a coalition of worker safety organizations to kick-off “The Campaign to Prevent Falls in Construction!,” a national initiative aimed at promoting general safety on jobsites and preventing falls, the leading cause of construction deaths in the U.S. The campaign launches in tandem with Workers’ Memorial Day, an annual day of remembrance for those killed, injured or sickened on the job. The Laborers’ Health & Safety Fund of North America played a key role in the campaign’s conceptualization and has been working with several public and private … Read more

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Trimble to Enhance Office-to-Field Platform with Acquisition of Google’s SketchUp

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Trimble has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire SketchUp, one of the most popular 3-D modeling tools, from Google. SketchUp is used for designing, modeling and visualizing projects. The product and its vision of “3-D modeling for everyone” has allowed modelers worldwide, across a wide range of industries, to express design concepts easily, accurately and efficiently. Additionally, users benefit from its extensive third-party developer community that provides industry-specific solutions for a variety of customers. As part of the SketchUp platform, Trimble will also partner with Google on running and further developing SketchUp’s 3-D Warehouse, an online repository where users … Read more

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Association of Equipment Manufacturers Elects New Directors

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The CE Sector Board of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers has elected two new directors: Tim Ford of Terex Corporation and Dave Foster of Volvo Construction Equipment NA Inc. Ford is president, Terex Aerial Work Platforms for Terex Corporation and fills an open position. Foster is vice president of marketing and communications for Volvo Construction Equipment NA Inc. and fills an unexpired term. The CE Sector Board is AEM’s Board-level group focused on the construction sector: it determines/recommends strategic direction and develops/directs programs, services and activities. AEM directors help set the guidelines and operating policies of the association on behalf … Read more

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