WASHINGTON, March 25—Associated Builders and Contractors lauded Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) today for signing into law the Fair and Open Competition Act (HB 135), which ensures all of Kentucky’s skilled construction workforce and qualified businesses can compete on a level playing field for contracts to build state and local public works projects.

WASHINGTON, March 13—National nonresidential construction spending rose 2.4 percent in January, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data released today. At a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, nonresidential spending totaled $762.5 billion for the month, an increase of 4.8 percent over the previous year. Public nonresidential construction spending expanded 4.9 percent in January and private spending increased 0.8 percent. Both public and private nonresidential spending are up 8.5 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively, on a yearly basis.

WASHINGTON, March 13—According to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released today, construction input prices rose 0.9 percent monthly in February and 1.8 percent in the past 12 months. Inputs to nonresidential construction were up 1 percent monthly and 2.7 percent on a yearly basis. This is the first time that input prices have risen since October 2018, when prices increased by 0.5 percent. 

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17, 2018—Associated Builders and Contractors reports that its Construction Backlog Indicator contracted to 9.04 months during the third quarter of 2018, down 8.4 percent from the second quarter and 4.3 percent lower than the same time last year.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 11—Construction materials prices fell 1.8 percent in November, according to Associated Builders and Contractors’ analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released today. Despite the monthly decline, materials prices are still 5.3 percent higher than they were on a year-over-year basis.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7—Construction employment expanded by 5,000 net new jobs in November, according to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data conducted by Associated Builders and Contractors today. During the past 12 months, the industry has added 282,000 net new construction jobs, which translates into a 4 percent increase in total industry-wide employment. 

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4—Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu forecasts another strong year for construction sector performance, yet warns about inflationary pressures, according to a 2019 economic outlook published today in Construction Executive magazine.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3—National nonresidential spending increased 0.1 percent in October, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data released today. Total nonresidential spending for the month stood at $763.8 billion on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, which represents a 7.3 percent increase over the same time last year.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 28—Associated Builders and Contractors released its 2018 Merit Shop Scorecard today, an annual state ranking based on policies and programs that encourage open competition, education and job growth, and award construction contracts based solely on merit, regardless of labor affiliation.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 27—Estimated October construction unemployment rates fell nationally and in 45 states on a year-over-year basis, according to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released today by Associated Builders and Contractors.

LAS VEGAS, Nov. 14―The Associated Builders and Contractors Board of Directors elected Tony Rader, telecom vice president for National Roofing Partners, to serve as the 2019 national chair during the association’s annual Leadership Institute in Las Vegas. Ray Zamora, president of AnchorBuilt Inc., was elected chair-elect, and Steve Klessig, vice president of architecture and engineering, Keller Inc. was elected secretary.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9—Construction prices rose 0.5 percent in October and are 7.9 percent high than at the same time a year ago, according to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index data conducted by Associated Builders and Contractors. Prices for nonresidential construction inputs also increased 0.5 percent on a month-over-month basis and are up by more than 8 percent on a year-over-year basis.  

WASHINGTON, Nov. 2—The U.S. construction industry added 30,000 net new jobs in October, according to an analysis from the Associated Builders and Contractors of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1—National nonresidential construction spending fell 0.3 percent in September but remains historically elevated, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data released today. Total nonresidential spending stood at $767.1 billion on a seasonally adjusted, annualized rate in September, an increase of 8.9 percent on a year-ago basis.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 30—Estimated September construction unemployment rates fell nationally and in 30 states on a year-over-year basis, according to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released today by Associated Builders and Contractors. 

WASHINGTON, Oct. 29—Associated Builders and Contractors announced today that Timothy Mongeau has been appointed as director of workforce development.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26—The U.S. economy expanded at a 3.5 percent annualized rate during the third quarter of 2018, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data released today. This represents the first time there have been two consecutive quarters of 3 percent-plus growth since the beginning of 2015.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10—Prices for inputs to construction rose 0.3 percent in September and are 7.4 percent higher than a year ago, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released today. Overall prices for nonresidential construction inputs rose 0.4 percent, reversing last month’s downward trend. Among individual subcategories, softwood lumber prices are down 0.4 percent, yet are up 5.4 percent on a year-over-year basis. Crude petroleum and natural gas prices are both up on a monthly basis, 8.7 and 1.1 percent, respectively. 

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5—The U.S. construction industry added 23,000 net new positions in September, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1— National nonresidential construction spending expanded 0.7 percent in August to its highest level since the U.S. Census Bureau began collecting the data in 2002, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis released today. Total nonresidential spending stood at $762.7 billion on a seasonally adjusted, annualized rate in August, which represents an increase of 8.4 percent compared to one year ago. Private nonresidential spending fell 0.2 percent in August largely due to a 1.3 percent decline in power-related spending, the largest private construction spending category, and public nonresidential spending increased 2 percent.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2—Estimated August construction unemployment rates fell nationally and in every state except Colorado on a year-over-year basis, according to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released today by Associated Builders and Contractors.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 27—Larry Lopez, president and chief executive officer of Green JobWorks, Baltimore, and chairman of Associated Builders and Contractor’s Diversity Committee, testified today before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access on how recent economic growth is positively impacting local communities.  

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17—Associated Builders and Contractors reports that its Construction Backlog Indicator expanded to a record 9.9 months during the second quarter of 2018. Backlog is up 12.2 percent from the first quarter and 14 percent compared to the same time last year. 

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24—Construction contractors remained confident during the second quarter of 2018, according to the latest Construction Confidence Index released today by Associated Builders and Contractors.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31—The not seasonally adjusted (NSA) national construction unemployment rate was 5.9 percent in December, down 1.5 percent from December 2016 and the lowest December rate on record, according to an analysis released today by Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. Estimated construction unemployment rates were down in 46 states on a year-over-year basis, unchanged in one (Idaho) and up in three states (Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).