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The hospitality industry group Lodging Econometrics has released its new prospectus of hotel projects in the construction and planning pipelines, indicating a new all-time high for the growing sector. At the end of Q2, 1,171 projects were reportedly under construction across the U.S. Another... View full entry
The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI) for July has improved for the second consecutive month, recording a 7.9% increase to a new score of 216.3. This follows June’s revised increase to 200.5. For the month, commercial planning grew by 6.8%, and institutional planning gained 11.1%. "While data centers... View full entry
Nonresidential construction spending dipped 0.2% nationwide in June, according to the latest Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.21 trillion, with... View full entry
The total number of construction starts fell by 19% in June, which resulted in a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.0 trillion, according to Dodge Construction Network’s latest Construction Starts Index. Nonbuilding starts dipped 46%, and nonresidential starts decreased by 13%... View full entry
The latest AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index (ABI) for June has indicated a continuation of soft business conditions for firms, with a new recorded score of 46.4 (any score below 50 indicates a decline). The number is slightly higher than May's score of 42.4, which represented a new... View full entry
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced a new round of grants worth nearly $160 million to support the clean manufacturing of domestically produced construction materials. The funds are being distributed to 38 entities, including the University of Massachusetts Amherst... View full entry
ConstructConnect’s latest Project Stress Index (PSI) reading, which measures the level of non-residential projects that have experienced a delayed bid date, being placed on hold, or being abandoned, for June 2024 is up 1.5% from May. The figure of 112.7 is up 9% from June 2023. As reported by... View full entry
Construction input prices fell by 0.3% in June, according to the latest Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Producer Price Index. For the month, Nonresidential construction input prices declined by 0.4%. Overall construction input prices are... View full entry
Product standardisation—or the lack thereof—is a major obstacle to mass timber adoption, especially in the lower-rise and mid-rise “sweet spots.” It comes as Europe is miles ahead of North America (Asia-Pacific, Australia, and New Zealand) in developing mainstream mass timber systems. — Wood Central
“They [North America] have a mature market where woodworkers and integration shops work alongside billet producers to service the market,” Adrian Mitchell told the outlet. “It is not about whose panel size got designed by the engineer into a project from the start, giving that manufacturer... View full entry
The crisis of housing in New York City isn't going anywhere soon: The latest data from a key city agency has revealed a pronounced stalemate in the number of new apartment buildings currently planned for construction in all five boroughs. A lack of tax incentives, including the expiration of rule... View full entry
The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI) increased by 10.4% in June to a new score of 198.6, according to new data from Dodge Construction Network. The latest numbers are up considerably from the revised May reading of 179.9. Over the month, commercial planning increased 14.5%, and institutional planning... View full entry
Through my research on elevators, I got a glimpse into why so little new housing is built in America and why what is built is often of such low quality and at high cost. The problem with elevators is a microcosm of the challenges of the broader construction industry — from labor to building codes to a sheer lack of political will. [...]
It’s become hard to shake the feeling that America has simply lost the capacity to build things in the real world, outside of an app.
— The New York Times
Stephen Smith, through the New York nonprofit Center for Building in North America, has been exposing variables that undermine the housing market's intricate calculus in the form of building codes, cost of labor, zoning regulations, and the construction industry. He says: "Elevators in North... View full entry
Spending on nonresidential construction nationwide fell 0.1% in May, according to a newly released Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data on the industry. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending now totals $1.21 trillion. Spending... View full entry
The latest economic data revealed by the new AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index for May has indicated a sharp decline to a score of 42.4, representing a new low point for the index after a year and a half of weak performances. "The decline in the May ABI score continues a year and a half of... View full entry
The total number of construction starts increased by 10% in May, according to data in Dodge Construction Network’s latest Construction Starts Index. Nonbuilding starts increased by 49%, while residential starts fell 7% and nonresidential building starts went down 2%. On a year-to-date basis... View full entry
