Construction Input Prices Moderate in March, Energy Prices Down

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Construction input prices rose for the fourth consecutive month in March, increasing by .3 percent on a monthly basis and 4.4 percent on a yearly basis, according to analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data recently released by Associated Builders and Contractors. Nonresidential construction input prices performed similarly, increasing by .4 percent for the month and 4.4 percent for the year. Energy-related inputs experienced a sharp decline in prices for the month, with natural gas prices decreasing by 30 percent and crude petroleum prices falling by 10.8 percent. That said, those two inputs have increased by … Read more

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Associated Builders and Contractors Celebrates National Safety Week

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Associated Builders and Contractors celebrates Safety Week 2017 with a call for the construction industry to pledge support for substance abuse prevention and implement additional safety processes that lead to world-class safety performance. According to a recent ABC report, member construction firms with a substance abuse program in place reduce their incident rates by more than one-third compared to the industry average, and those that implement proactive best practices in 20 key safety components reduce recordable incidents by up to 87 percent. “Associated Builders and Contractors believes that every jobsite incident is preventable, and that it is … Read more

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Structure Tone Southwest Earns National Excellence in Construction Award

Structure Tone Southwest’s work on Vitol’s new Houston, Texas headquarters has earned the company a National Excellence in Construction Pyramid Award from Associated Builders and Contractors in the “Commercial” project category. Designed by PDR, Vitol’s sophisticated new 60,000-square-foot Houston, Texas office included challenging custom features from a construction point of view, ranging from raised flooring to house data infrastructure and fluted columns, to a double-height, custom ceiling and a specially commissioned architectural sculpture built onsite during construction. ABC’s Excellence in Construction awards program is the industry’s leading competition, developed to honor innovative and high-quality merit shop construction projects, with an … Read more

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ABC Reports on Safety Best Practices Making Construction Companies 770% Safer

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Associated Builders and Contractors recently released its 2017 Safety Performance Report to further the construction industry’s understanding of how to make jobsites safer through its Safety Performance Evaluation Process. Packed with infographics and practical takeaways, the report documents the dramatic impact of using proactive safety practices to reduce recordable incidents by up to 87 percent, making the best-performing companies 770 percent safer than the industry average. The Safety Performance Report is based on data gathered from ABC member companies recording more than 1 billion hours of work in construction, heavy construction, civil engineering and specialty trades. It … Read more

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Construction Unemployment Rates Improve in 25 States, ABC Says

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Construction unemployment rates were down in 25 states and unchanged in four in February on a year-over-year basis, according to analysis released by Associated Builders and Contractors. The national not seasonally adjusted construction unemployment rate of 8.8 percent was up 0.1 percent from February 2016, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since these industry-specific rates are not seasonally adjusted, the best approach is to evaluate the national and state-level unemployment rates on a year-over-year basis. “Despite the slight downturn in the year-over-year NSA national construction unemployment rate, half the states had a reduction … Read more

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