Construction Industry News

North America's Building Trades Unions' President Sean McGarvey issued the following statement marking the end of the formal comment period on the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) proposed rule to dramatically alter the nation's apprenticeship system with a new proposal known as Industry Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAPs):

Skanska has merged its Polish and Czech/Slovak construction operations into one business unit—Skanska Central Europe. Michal Jurka, the business unit president (BUP) of Czech and Slovak construction operations, becomes BUP of the unit, effective September 1, 2019. Details here. 

Among professional construction contractors who rented equipment in the past year, a majority expects to increase reliance on rental in the year ahead, according to a comprehensive survey of contractors released by the American Rental Association (ARA). Details here. 

Brickworks Property Restoration will pay $130,788 in back wages to 58 employees after the United States Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found the employer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act's (FLSA) overtime and record-keeping provisions.

The Nebraska Public Service Commission has approved the Keystone XL Pipeline route through the state—one of three proposed routes included in the application filed by TransCanada. Details about the decision and the pipeline here. 

The SOGR Program provides funding to repair, replace or rehabilitate publicly or Amtrak owned or controlled railroad equipment, infrastructure and facilities. The SOGR Program is intended to improve intercity passenger rail performance. Eligible projects include upgrading infrastructure, such as track, switches, bridges and highway-rail grade crossings; stations; and equipment, including passenger cars.

The Department of Energy aims to use quantum dots and other novel technologies, advancing bioenergy research through an effort to reengineer plants and microbes for bioenergy conversion and production. 

July new business volume up 15% year-over-year, down 5% month-over-month and up 3 percent year-to-date. Details here. 

American Wood Council (AWC) President and Chief Executive Officer Robert Glowinski issued the following statement regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) release of the Plywood and Composite Wood Products (PCWP) Risk and Technology Review (RTR) proposal: 

At a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $849.6 billion, new construction starts in July advanced 2% from the previous month, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. This marked the third consecutive monthly increase for total construction starts, following gains of 10% in May and 9% in June. Details here. 

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has announced the award of a design-build contract to start construction on the I-405, Renton to Bellevue Widening and Express Toll Lanes project. More information here. 

The LaGuardia Airport Central Terminal Building (CTB) Replacement Project is the first project to earn “Envision” recognition under Envision v3—the latest iteration of the Envision sustainable infrastructure framework developed and managed by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI), indicating the project delivered a heightened range of social, environmental, and economic benefits to the host and affected communities. Project details here.  

Hino ushered in a new era of manufacturing capability at the company during a grand opening ceremony that was attended by West Virginia Governor Justice, Senators Manchin and Capito, Congressman McKinley, local government officials, dealers, customers, suppliers and media. More about the ceremony and new facility here. 

During the first half of 2019, six of the top 10 United States metropolitan markets for commercial and multifamily construction starts ranked by dollar volume registered greater activity compared to a year ago, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. Of the top 20 markets, 13 were able to register gains. Details here. 

The Latin American construction industry continues its recovery and will see a modest strengthening in growth in 2019 with the expectation of a more robust expansion in 2020. Details of the growth here. 

A team of UCLA engineers has received a $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop 3D-printed concretethat incorporates carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, as part of a binder. Details on this green building product here. 

The new 5-year forecast from the American Rental Association (ARA), updated in August, calls for equipment and event rental revenues in North America to surpass $71 billion in 2023, including $64.7 billion in the United States and $6.4 billion in Canada. The latest forecast is ARA’s first to project rental revenue for 2023. Details on the current figures here. 

For the architecture, engineering and construction industry, 2018 was a banner year where mergers and acquisitions were concerned.