Follow this tag to curate your own personalized Activity Stream and email alerts.
The latest Dodge Momentum Index (DMI) for November has indicated a 1% drop to 179.2 a month after posting a revised total of 181.7 for October that was propelled by gains in the commercial sector. Over November, both the commercial and institutional components fell by 1%. DCN says these results... View full entry
A team at the University of British Columbia has developed “smart construction robots” for performing basic tasks on construction sites, such as lifting and moving objects. The team, led by Dr. Tony Yang from the University’s Smart Structures Lab, recently demonstrated the concept at a... View full entry
It will soon become nearly impossible to install fossil-fueled appliances to heat new homes and businesses in Washington. [...]
The codes will require new homes and buildings to meet the same total energy performance as those built with electric heat pumps while allowing builders flexibility to choose appliances. Basically, if builders choose gas appliances, they will need to make up the efficiency losses elsewhere in the construction.
— Seattle Times
The state’s building code update puts them in league with California, Maryland, and major cities New York, Los Angeles, and Boston to have adopted similar policies. The new amendments offer a “watered-down” alternative to a proposed electric heat pump mandate that was abandoned in the... View full entry
New data from the Dodge Construction Network has construction starts falling 7% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.1 trillion. The figures follow September’s 6% decline and represent another 4% year-to-year decline when compared to the same data sets from October 2022. ... View full entry
German company PERI 3D Construction is collaborating with construction printer manufacturer COBOD on what the team describes as the “first 3D printed social housing apartment building in Germany and Europe.” The three-floor building will contain six apartment units ranging from 670 to... View full entry
A new Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of statistics provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index data has shown a slight decline in construction input prices of 1.2% for the month of October. Per ABC’s analysis, Construction input prices are 1.1%... View full entry
The newly-released Architecture Billings Index from the American Institute of Architects has indicated a significant decline in billings after posting a total score under 50 for the third month in a row. The October score of 44.3 offers a slight decrease from September’s total of 44.8. The West... View full entry
The data just released in the Dodge Momentum Index (DMI) reporting for the month of October indicate a 1.0% increase to 181.7 over September’s revised total of 180.3. The increase was propelled by a 2.0% rise in the commercial component, while the institutional component dropped by 1.4%. Year... View full entry
According to Rider Levett Bucknall’s (RLB) latest crane index report, the total number of cranes on commercial projects in North American cities has decreased by 10%, or by 51 cranes, from the first quarter to the third quarter of 2023. Out of the fourteen cities surveyed, six experienced... View full entry
Construction starts for the month of September declined a total of 6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.2 trillion, according to the latest Dodge Construction Network report. The findings come on the heels of a converse 6% increase reported in last month’s index that was driven... View full entry
The latest Architecture Billings Index from the American Institute of Architects for the month of September is showing declines for a second consecutive month to a total score of 44.8 (any score above 50 indicates an increase) following a brief period of stabilization that occurred over the... View full entry
Construction input prices remain marginally higher than one year ago, according to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statics Producer Price Index data conducted by the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). Overall construction input prices are 0.3% higher than a year ago, while... View full entry
September's Dodge Momentum Index (DMI) rose 3% to 182.5 from the revised August reading of 178.0. Over the month, the DMI’s commercial component fell 1%, while the institutional component rose 9%. The dip in the commercial segment was driven by weaker office planning. On the other hand, the... View full entry
Concerns over the possible Federal Government shutdown next month are causing headaches for contractors of much-needed infrastructure projects across the country who fear a chain reaction in the construction industry could leave lasting setbacks that would take years to overcome. A stop-work on... View full entry
The Associated Builders and Contractors’ Chief Economist Anirban Basu has struck an optimistic note about the near-term health of the construction industry. The assessment comes as ABC releases its latest Construction Backlog Indicator, which found that backlogs declined to 9.2 months in... View full entry
