December 16, 2008

News for contractors and the construction industry

§                                 Interest groups eager for piece of infrastructure plan
Many interest groups hope to land portions of President-elect Barack Obama's stimulus package that will fund infrastructure projects. The packages could be 10 time larger than a $60.8 billion stimulus plan that died in the Senate less than three months ago, observers say. It may also include tax cuts, funds for energy conservation and development of renewable resources. The Boston Globe (12/15) , Forbes (12/15)

§                                 Government seeks contractors to build high-speed rail
The government plans to build a $30 billion to $40 billion high-speed passenger rail line between Washington and New York and is seeking contractors for the project. It is also considering funding other high-speed rail lines in other parts of the country, including Florida and California. The New York-Washington rail would carry travelers between the two cities in no more than two hours. The Washington Times (12/16)

§                                 Column: Has the time come to boost mass transit funding? The growing emphasis on energy security and reducing emissions has created more interest in mass transit, writes Lisa Caruso in the National Journal. More than 10 transportation and infrastructure experts discuss whether those trends justify more federal spending on mass transit and whether public transit supporters will effectively push for more funding in the next surface transportation bill. National Journal (12/15)

§                                 Soaring oil prices will affect cost of Tennessee highway project
The soaring cost of petroleum products has sent the cost of a Tennessee highway project up nearly $800,000. Global fuel prices have increased fuel costs for contracts and have sent the cost of asphalt soaring, planners say. WZTV (Nashville)/WZTV (12/15)

§                                 New Jersey bill would require stricter oversight of some projects
A bill passed by the New Jersey Assembly gives the state the ability to more closely track development projects that receive more than $50 million in federal funds. Under the bill, developers must submit audited annual financial statements and post performance bonds worth 110% of the public funds dedicated to the project, among other things. The goal of the bill is to ensure that state funds are invested and spent wisely, lawmakers say. However, some observers note that the version of the bill that passed is more "business friendly" than a prior version. The Star-Ledger (Newark, N.J.) (12/15)

§                                 Other News

·                                 Hawaii to pump $1 billion into construction projects
The Honolulu Advertiser (12/15)

·                                 California PUC to issue report on proposed $250M desalination plant
Reuters (12/15)

§                                 Cost of construction materials drops 3.2% in November
The cost of construction materials declined 3.2% in November, a greater decline than the 2.2% drop posted for the entire U.S. economy. Smaller declines are expected in December and possibly in January. The cost of diesel fell 20%, asphalt fell 15% and structural steel declined 11%. Costs are still above last year's prices. Reed/ACP Construction Data (12/15)

§                                 Financial crises, past and present
Past financial crises had very different effects on the real economy. Although the lessons of the past don't give much cause for optimism, they do provide hints on how companies should prepare this time around. The McKinsey Quarterly (free registration for SmartBrief readers) (12/2008)

§                                 Group urges swift action on infrastructure package
Associated General Contractors of America Chief Economist Ken Simonson said lawmakers should take swift action on an economic stimulus package to offset job losses in the construction industry. "Many of those (job) losses have been in heavy and civil engineering construction -- highways and other public works," Simonson said. "Those workers could quickly be re-employed if the states had enough money to award contracts for projects they have ready to go." ConstrucTech (free registration) (12/16)

§                                 More contractors value technology that allows for interoperability
Interoperability between disparate applications is becoming more important to contractors as their budgets continue to tighten. agcXML, which was funded by Associated General Contractors of America, has the potential to improve interoperability and involves developing a set of XML standards for the exchange of construction business process and document information. "This should enable anyone in the industry to use whatever application they consider to be suitable for their organization or for their particular tasks and still be able to exchange info with business partners," noted Michael Tardiff, agcXML project manager. ConstrucTech (free registration) (12/15)

§                                 Other News

·                                 Technology aids equipment tracking
Associated Construction Publications (12/15)

§                                 Pelosi says stimulus package work under way
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., says legislators are working on crafting an economic stimulus package in the neighborhood of $600 billion. Of that, two-thirds would be used for infrastructure projects, while the remaining $200 billion would come in the form of tax cuts. St. Louis Post-Dispatch/The Associated Press (12/15)

§                                 Over 400 construction resources -- yours at a click
Over 400 titles are at your fingertips: books, DVDs, videos, contract documents, recordings, downloads on essential topics like equipment safety, risk management, supervisory training, environmental management, labor relations -- everything a successful construction contractor could need. Continuously updated with the current available titles! Visit www.agc.org/bookstore and see for yourself.

§                                 AGC offers construction Tool Box Safety Talks DVD
This DVD contains more than two hours of video (30 titles) of the most used Tool Box Safety Talks for construction jobs. You'll be able to select videos by title with just one click. Each video topic is an average of five minutes in length. Topics include: Chemical Safety, Compressed Gas Safety, Construction Equipment Maintenance, Crane Signals, Cut-off Saw, Safety, Environmental Hazards, Eye & Face Protection and much more. To purchase copies, visit www.agc.org/bookstore, item #0550D.

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