ABC Names Top-Performing Contractors in U.S. Commercial, Industrial Construction

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Associated Builders and Contractors released its 2019 Top Performers lists, which recognize ABC member contractors’ achievements in safety, quality, diversity and project excellence ranked by work hours, with special designations identified. “ABC Top Performers are leading the way in the merit shop construction industry, where diverse participants are constantly striving to achieve the highest levels of personal and company performance in an environment of fair and open competition,” said Michael Bellaman, president and CEO of ABC. “These rankings will help the industry identify contractors that have achieved world-class safety performance, demonstrated their commitment to their workers and their communities and … Read more

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Construction Input Prices Continue to Rise, Says ABC

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Construction input prices increased 0.9% in April on a monthly basis and 2.4% compared to the same time last year, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Nonresidential input prices rose 0.9% compared to March and are up 2.8% on an annual basis. Among the 11 subcategories, seven experienced price decreases last month, with the largest decreases in natural gas (-8.7%), iron and steel (-1.7%) and steel mill products (-1.7%). The four subcategories that experienced monthly price increases were crude petroleum (+13.9%), unprocessed energy materials (+3.7%), prepared asphalt products (+2.7%) and concrete … Read more

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Jobs Decline in Construction Sector for First Time in More than Two Years, Says ABC

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According to a recent analysis by the Associated Builders and Contractors of data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the construction industry lost 31,000 net new jobs in February. Overall, nonresidential employment decreased by 20,400 net new positions compared to January, with losses split between nonresidential building (-3,000), heavy and civil engineering (-13,200) and nonresidential specialty contractors (-4,200). However, industry employment is up 223,000 jobs since February 2018, an increase of 3.1 percent. Unemployment in the construction industry dropped slightly to 6.2 percent, down 0.2 percentage points from January. On a year-over-year basis, unemployment is 1.6 percentage points … Read more

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Study Reviews Key Findings of Fatal Injuries at Road Construction Sites

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Working at road construction sites can be dangerous. Between 2011 and 2016, 532 construction workers lost their lives at road construction sites, an average of 89 workers each year. CPWR’s Data Center recently explored road construction fatality trends and causes using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Among the key findings: About half of these deaths happened when a worker on foot was struck by a vehicle or mobile heavy equipment (such as a dump truck on the worksite, or a passing car intruding on the worksite) Construction laborers suffered the greatest number of construction fatalities, and both the … Read more

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Strong Economy, Weaker Dollar Help Construction Materials Prices Recover in January

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Overall construction input prices increased 1.1 percent in January, reversing a slight decline in December 2017, according to a recently released Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Compared to this time last year, overall construction materials prices are up 4.9 percent. Nonresidential construction materials prices are up 4.7 percent year over year and up 1 percent on a monthly basis. The price of natural gas fell 13.1 percent in January and is down 31 percent on a year-over-year basis. In stark contrast, the price of crude petroleum rose 11.6 percent in January … Read more

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