Construction Industry Concerns with ‘Waters of the U.S.’ Rule Remain

Washington, D.C. – Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) released the following statement on the “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) final rule issued today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). Read the rest of entry »

Obama Administration’s ‘Blacklisting’ Proposal Bad for Contractors, Employees and Taxpayers

Washington, D.C. – Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) today issued the following statement regarding the “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” proposed rule issued by the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council. The proposed rule, previously commonly referred to as the “blacklisting executive order,” and a guidance memo issued by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) implementing President Obama’s Executive Order 13673 targeting the federal contracting community were both released today. Read the rest of entry »

Construction Materials Prices Remain Tame in April

Prices for inputs to construction industries fell by 0.1 percent in April, ending a two month streak during which material prices expanded by greater than 0.4 percent. Prices have now fallen in six of the previous eight months and input prices are also down on a year-over-year basis, falling 4 percent since April 2014. This represents the greatest year-over-year decline since October 2009 and year-over-year input prices have now declined for 5 straight months after expanding in each of the previous 60 months. Prices for inputs to nonresidential construction showed a similar decline, falling 0.1 percent for the month and 5.1 percent year-over-year. Crude petroleum prices expanded for only the second time in the previous ten months, growing by 13.1 percent, the largest month-over-month increase since November 2011. Read the rest of entry »

ABC Applauds Passage of Bill to Force Withdrawal of ‘Waters of the U.S.’ Rule

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) released the following statement on the U.S. House of Representatives’ passage of the Regulatory Integrity Protection Act of 2015, which would require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to withdraw the flawed “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) rule and develop a new proposed rule after engaging in meaningful stakeholder consultation. Read the rest of entry »

Nonresidential Construction Bounces Back with the Broader Economy

The U.S. construction industry added 45,000 jobs in April according to the May 8 Bureau of Labor Statistics preliminary estimate. March’s estimate was revised downward from -1,000 to -9,000 net new jobs. Nonresidential construction employment increased by 12,400 jobs in April, with nonresidential specialty trade contractors leading the way with 20,200 new jobs. Nonresidential building employment plummeted for the month, losing 7,800 jobs. The residential sector bounced back in April, adding 23,600 jobs.   Read the rest of entry »

Year-over-year Construction Unemployment Rate Falls in 41 States

March, as is to be expected, provided better weather than February, though some parts of the country were hit with severe storms, including spring snow storms. This resulted in a monthly decrease in the March not seasonally adjusted (NSA) construction unemployment rate for the country and in the estimated construction unemployment rates for 43 states. Read the rest of entry »

Nonresidential Construction Spending Inches Lower in March

Nonresidential construction spending has now declined during each of the year’s first three months, according to a May 1 report by the U.S. Census Bureau.
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