RALEIGH, N.C. (October 28, 2013) – FMI, a leading provider of management consulting and investment banking* to the engineering and construction industry, announces the release of its 2013 study on prefabrication and modularization in construction. The report is based on the survey results from construction managers, general contractors, as well as electrical and mechanical contractors.

CHICAGO (October 29, 2013) - Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., has earned national recognition in the 2013 Innovative Design in Engineering and Architecture with Structural Steel awards program (IDEAS2). In honor of this achievement, members of the project team will be presented with awards from the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) during a ceremony at the project site on Oct. 30 at noon.

RIDGEFIELD, Wash. (October 28, 2013) - Architects, engineers and contractors are making plans to take the LEED exams before the cut-off deadline of May 31, 2014. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has announced that applicants can take the exams based on LEED v2009 materials until the 2014 sunset date. The new exams, which will be available after June 2014, are expected to be more difficult due to the addition of new credits and a new credit category.

September new business is down 6 percent year-over-year, up 20 percent month-to-month and up 6 percent year-to-date.

WASHINGTON (October 23, 2013) — The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s (ELFA) Monthly Leasing and Finance Index (MLFI-25), which reports economic activity from 25 companies representing a cross section of the $725 billion equipment finance sector, showed their overall new business volume for September was $7.7 billion, down 6 percent compared to volume in September 2012.

The industry was doing "relatively well" in months prior to federal government shutdown, but quick passage of water resources legislation is needed to help the industry recover from a likely October slowdown, officials say.

(October 22, 2013) - Construction employment rose by 20,000 in September, and the industry’s unemployment rate fell to a six-year low of 8.5 percent, while construction spending increased for the fifth consecutive month in August, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials cautioned that the data does not address any potential impacts from the recent federal government shutdown.