Energy Prices Drive Construction Materials Costs Higher in October

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Construction input prices increased .3% in October 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 .3% for the month. Prices increased in all three energy subcategories last month. Natural gas prices increased by 29.3%, unprocessed energy materials prices rose 9.9% and crude petroleum prices advanced by 7.3%. Overall construction input prices are .2% lower than a year ago, while nonresidential construction input prices are 0.5% lower. “Higher energy prices drove the increase in construction input prices observed in October,” … Read more

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Construction Labor Shortages Persist, Reports Annual Marcum Job Analysis

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The construction industry continues to face a skilled labor shortage, with worker scarcity worsening since the beginning of the pandemic, according to Marcum LLP’s annual analysis of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The construction industry has slowly begun to recover jobs lost in the early months of 2020. But the rate of recovery has put the industry significantly behind the pre-pandemic pace of employment growth. The residential sector, buoyed by a boom in new home construction, has gained employees at a faster pace than the nonresidential sector over the past two years. Nonresidential construction … Read more

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National Ladder Safety Month: The Perfect Time to ‘Step Up’ Employee Training

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According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ladder deaths accounted for 161 on-the-job fatalities in 2020, the most recent year for which statistics are available. That same year, there were 22,710 ladder-related workplace injuries, an injury stat that has remained relatively constant over the previous several years. March is National Ladder Safety Month, spearheaded by the American Ladder Institute. This, its seventh year, will focus on four key themes: Week One – Choosing Your Ladder Week Two – Safety Before the First Step (Inspection and Set Up) Week Three – Safety While Climbing Week Four – Safety at the … Read more

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Price of Construction Materials Declines in November, ABC Predicts Moderate Increases in Early 2019

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Construction materials prices fell 1.8 percent in November, according to the Associated Builders and Contractors’ recent analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Despite the monthly decline, materials prices are still 5.3 percent higher than they were on a year-over-year basis. Nonresidential construction input prices fell 1.7 percent for the month, and are up 5.8 percent compared to the same time last year. Prices declined in five of 11 subcategories, with crude petroleum (down 29.5 percent) and unprocessed energy materials (down 11.5 percent) experiencing the largest decreases. Only natural gas recorded a substantial increase in price: up 15 percent … Read more

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Construction Employment Falters in March, Says ABC

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. construction industry lost 15,000 jobs on net in March, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This represents a significant reversal from February, when the industry added a post-recession high of 65,000 net new jobs (upwardly revised from more than 61,000). The construction sector has added 228,000 net new jobs over the past twelve months, which represents a substantial 3.3 percent increase in the number of workers directly employed by the industry. The nonresidential construction segment lost 8,200 jobs on net in March. While the … Read more

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