Construction workloads fall at fastest rate in decade

The construction industry is experiencing its sharpest slowdown in more than a decade, new statistics show.... Read More

Construction workloads fall at fastest rate in decade

The construction industry is experiencing its sharpest slowdown in more than a decade, new statistics show.... Read More

Is the Las Vegas building boom over?

The value of non residential building construction starts in Los Vegas doubled in 2007, primarily for hotels and retail, but is slipping faster than in the rest of the US in the last three month even with more than $1 billion of hotel contracts in March. Combined with the city’s deep housing recession and the state’s severe budget crisis, the outlook for nonresidential building construction has turned from super boon to a possible bust.... Read More

BSF schemes worth £625m get green light early

Eight Building Schools for the Future (BSF) schemes worth £625m have been given the green light to launch this summer – up to five years ahead of schedule.... Read More

BSF schemes worth £625m get green light early

Eight Building Schools for the Future (BSF) schemes worth £625m have been given the green light to launch this summer – up to five years ahead of schedule.... Read More

Olympic stadium cost jumps another £29m

The estimated construction cost of the 2012 Olympic stadium is now £525m, according to a report by Boris Johnson's Olympic watchdog.... Read More

Housing crisis: House prices to fall 9%

House prices will to fall by 9% this year and housing transactions will plummet 45%, mortgage lender HBOS has predicted.... Read More

Housing crisis: House prices to fall 9%

House prices will to fall by 9% this year and housing transactions will plummet 45%, mortgage lender HBOS has predicted.... Read More

Building A Better Borman/I-65 Interchange

In northern Indiana, contractors are rapidly constructing the first two of three phases in the final segment of the multiyear Borman Expressway (Interstates 80/94) reconstruction project by modifying the I-80/94 interchange with I-65. The challenging, $187-million interchange project includes building new ramps and bridges, upgrading existing ramps, rehabilitating bridges in the area, adding tr...... Read More

Housing starts lowest since 1945

Housing starts in 2008 will plummet to their lowest level since 1945, bleak industry forecasts reveal.... Read More

Gulf Coast and Carolina Now the Strongest Housing Markets

Jim Haughey says that the rapidly growing resort and retirement centers along the Carolina coast continue to have the most intense housing development in the US. This is followed closely by the hurricane rebuilding region on the Gulf Coast, including Houston and the manufacturing and business centers in the North Carolina Piedmont area plus Austin Texas. No Florida metro areas remain in the list of the twenty five cities with the most intense housing development.... Read More

Top 10 and Trend Graph – May 2008

The attached table records the 10 largest construction project starts in Canada in May 2008, by dollar volume. In the latest month, there were four projects in Ontario, three in British Columbia, two in Alberta and one in Saskatchewan. Also included is the latest trend graph on starts. This looks at 12-month moving totals (again based on dollar volume) of the two major non-residential building categories in Canada − total ICI starts and engineering work. ICI stands for industrial, commercial and institutional.... Read More

Paving Proceeds On The Gateway

Concrete paving and bridge work on the Ambassador Bridge Gateway Project in Detroit has been proceeding. There is approximately 50,000 cubic yards of concrete being used for the bridge work on the project. The fourth phase of the over $230-million project includes: All roads are expected to be open to traffic in 2009.... Read More

Key Measures for U.S. Home Inventory Moving in Right Direction

The number-of-months inventory of unsold new homes in the United States dropped slightly in April 2008 to 10.6 from 11.1 the month before. This is only a small decline, but combined with a number of other indicators, it adds to the collection of better news on U.S.  housing markets that has been accumulating. This story includes a chart that shows the trend of unsold inventory quite clearly.... Read More

Construction Starts Increase in May

Reed Construction Data (RCD) announced today that the year-to-date value of construction starts through May 2008, excluding residential contracts, totaled $110.4 billion, 5.9% less than in the same period last year, says Jim Haughey.... Read More

Sour Economic Environment for Homebuilders Suggest Recovery Process is Underway

All of the marker drivers for residential construction are now neutral or negative. However, this does not lead to a conclusion that the market has further to fall. More likely, the market is at the bottom with an upturn, albeit slow and week, soon ahead, says Reed Construction Data chief economist Jim Haughey.... Read More

Economic Environment for Nonresidential Markets Worsens

Jim Haughey reports that the only positive nonresidential construction market drivers are office starts, construction equipment shipments and, marginally, local tax receipts. Soaring materials costs from the strong economy overseas and slumping space and facility demand from the weak domestic economy have downgraded all other market drivers to neutral or negative.... Read More

Housing Still Stuck at the Bottom

Jim Haughey says that the small rise in MF starts was the only good news in the housing market over the last month and that the April gain may only be a brief offset to the unusually large March decline.... Read More

Construction Job Decline Slows in May

Contractors laid off 34,000 workers in May in today’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Monthly job cuts had averaged 48,000 over the previous six months, ranging from 39,000 to 57,000. Together with 8,000 layoffs in wood products manufacturing and 10,000 at architectural/engineering firms, construction again accounted for more than all of the total 49,000 job loss in the overall economy.... Read More

Construction spending decline slows in April

Jim Haughey says that total construction spending fell 0.4% in April after it was revised up 0.6% in March and remains 8.4% below the peak level in February 2006. Almost half of the decline occurred since last September when residential mortgage problems began to slow growth in nonresidential construction markets.... Read More

Residential market stabilizing

Jim Haughey discusses how starts, permits and new home sales increased in April for the first time in many months, confirming that the housing market is stabilizing at the job site although not yet downstream in the real estate market.... Read More

Spending growth ends in nonresidential building and heavy project markets

Jim Haughey says that nonresidential construction activity continues at a high level but has not expanded since last fall, after adjusting for project cost inflation, except for the construction of manufacturing facilities.... Read More

Construction Job Decline Slows in May

Contractors laid off 34,000 workers in May in today’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Monthly job cuts had averaged 48,000 over the previous six months, ranging from 39,000 to 57,000. Together with 8,000 layoffs in wood products manufacturing and 10,000 at architectural/engineering firms, construction again accounted for more than all of the total 49,000 job loss in the overall economy.... Read More

Rising costs of financing and construction put plans for $260-million racetrack on hold

A proposed $260-million horse racing track near Calgary has been delayed again.... Read More

Construction activity decline sharpens

Construction activity has dropped at its sharpest pace in a decade as the credit crunch takes its toll.... Read More

April Numbers Continue to Show Strength in Non-Residential Construction

According to the Action Economics Alerts (AEA) “The U.S. construction spending report beat expectations in April via a surprisingly robust 1.6% rise in private nonresidential construction.” This was coupled with the expected decline in residential construction of 2.3%. As there was fear of the non-residential industry weakening in the second quarter, this rise is evidence that it is most likely thriving and AEA is predicting a 10% rate of growth for the second quarter. This information will only continue to fuel the optimism I have for the immediate health... Read More

RBC Economics declares Canadian housing boom over

The housing boom in Canada is over and the red hot markets in Calgary and Edmonton are showing signs of potential for a significant decline, according to a major Canadian bank.... Read More

GDP Revision Improves Construction Outlook

There was good news for the construction outlook in today’s small upward revision of 1st quarter GDP growth from 0.6% to 0.9%. The revision increased construction spending, reversing the false assumption by the Bureau of Economic Analysis that nonresidential construction activity fell in March. The revisions also cut unwanted inventory accumulation, a potential depressant on business investment and cut the trade deficit, a sign that foreign demand for US goods continues to expand. A marginal rise in corporate profits was reported for the 1st quarter, after a big dip... Read More

GDP Revision Improves Construction Outlook

There was good news for the construction outlook in today’s small upward revision of 1st quarter GDP growth from 0.6% to 0.9%. The revision increased construction spending, reversing the false assumption by the Bureau of Economic Analysis that nonresidential construction activity fell in March. The revisions also cut unwanted inventory accumulation, a potential depressant on business investment and cut the trade deficit, a sign that foreign demand for US goods continues to expand. A marginal rise in corporate profits was reported for the 1st quarter, after a big dip... Read More

California Housing Markets will be the Last to Recover

Reed Construction Data chief economist Jim Haughey says homes are still the least affordable in California. Together with the huge surplus of homes for sale, a sustained pickup in housing market will come much later than in the rest of the country. The recent stabilization of home sales in California was due to bargain hunters investing in foreclosed or about to be foreclosed homes and will disappear when bargains are no longer available.... Read More

Outlook for non-residential investment continues to deteriorate in 2008

In first-quarter 2008, operating profits of Canadian corporations fell by 1.1% following a slightly smaller 0.9% decline in fourth-quarter 2007. There were three key contributors to this first-quarter weakness:... Read More

London's affordable housing targets could be slashed

Affordable housing targets in central London could be watered down under plans proposed by London’s new senior planning advisor Simon Milton.... Read More

Mid-year update on residential construction: taking a breather

Over the past few months, there has been increasing evidence that Canada’s housing market is taking a breather. First, existing home sales in April were down by 12.2% year over year in April 2008. Second, while still positive, year-over-year increases in both new and existing house prices have slowed since the middle of last year. Third, the number of completed and unoccupied vacant dwellings has trended steadily higher since late in 2006.... Read More

Changes in Canadian Construction Material Costs

The quite-thorough Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) report from Statistics Canada monitors price movements for a vast array of materials and products used in industrial processes. It provides a good means to examine some of the detail behind what is happening with respect to construction costs these days. As of April 2008, the most recent results for the relevant sub-groupings within the IPPI are examined in this story.... Read More

Residential market may be stabilizing

Homebuilders cut housing starts 12% in March, attempting to match new home supply with still falling home demand. This latest cut will achieve a match only if new home quickly pick up from the recent low level. That is unlikely. While home completions are falling quickly, existing home sales are no longer falling and the combined inventory of new and existing homes for sales is also now declining, further small reductions in new home starts are likely necessary through the spring.... Read More

Economic Environment for Nonresidential Markets Remains Mixed

The economic environment for all nonresidential markets weakened over the past month. Business sales and growth inventory is still rising but this is due only to the recent pickup in commodity inflation. State and local government tax receipt growth increased in the first quarter but the trend is clearly reverse for the rest of the year. The only positive changes came from the financial markets in April, a month later than most of the other data.... Read More

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