SeaWorld, which has closed its doors in recent weeks, is facing liens from Winter Park construction company Wilsten Group as it allegedly owes $225,000 in unpaid construction bills. So reports the Orlando Sentinel.

Of the three liens SeaWorld is dealing with, the largest relates to a beach bar at the Aquatica Orlando water park. Sea World owes $175,390 of the $322,000 total bill for the project.

Read the full article from the Orlando Sentinel.

The construction shutdown in New York City is threatening the industry’s substantial debt risk. So reports Bloomberg.

The $66 billion industry features projects carrying close to $8 billion in construction debt over a two-year period. Lenders servicing those projects include Wells Fargo & Co. and Deutsche Bank AG. Further, “projects still on the drawing board that are looking for funding are probably out of luck for now,” according to the article.

Read the full story from Bloomberg.

In an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19, New Jersey is shutting down nonessential construction, per Gov. Phil Murphy. So reports NorthJersey.com.

Construction projects are being halted indefinitely as the state rolls out additional measures to inhibit the spread of the virus. The ban comes in the wake of a controversial move by Murphy to close all county and state parks.

Read the full story NorthJersey.com.

It appears a ballot measure in San Francisco, which limits office development if the city misses its affordable housing target, will pass. So reports The San Francisco Examiner.

Proposition E locked up 55% of affirmative votes as nearly all precincts had reported as of press time. Once official, San Francisco will need more than 2,000 new units to hit its target, or else office space development will be at risk next year.

Read the full article from The San Francisco Examiner.

Zion Market Research group released its analysis of the EHS Market, covering global analysis, share, growth trends and forecasts for 2016-2024.

A key factor contributing to Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) market growth is regulation, guidelines and processes relevant to environmental safety and worksite health and safety.

Companies have to continually invest in training, compliance, and assessment of their worksites to ensure adherence to stringent standards, particularly where chemicals are used. North America dominates the EHS market with the highest use of software and services related to EHS compliance.

Asia Pacific is another region with expected market growth. Other regions are similarly discussed in the report. The report further analyzes change in market dynamics, analysis of volume and value, market share, and emerging segments and regional markets among other topics. 

Read more about the report.

North Carolina-based Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. (NYSE: SKT) has announced new sustainability initiatives for its United States locations, promoting alternative energy usage as part of its ongoing initiatives toward environmental responsibility.

Included in these initiatives is a nationwide electric vehicle (EV) charging network system that will be available at 23 Tanger Outlets locations in the U.S. in anticipation of increasing demand from shoppers who own electric vehicles. Additionally, Tanger will continue to pursue other green programs including LED and Induction lighting conversions nationwide.

Read the full press release.

In response to rising levels of nitrogen dioxide that testing has attributed to idling construction vehicles, New Jersey police can now issue penalties for idling infractions. So reports Stopthesoot.org.

Failing to follow idling standards may lead to enforcement actions and civil fines, starting at $250 per day, for the property owner and the vehicle/equipment operator, according to an advisory from the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection advisory. There are many health hazards associated with vehicle emissions. The DEP advisory includes tips for preventing idling of construction vehicles including automatic shutdowns.

Read the full article from Stop the Soot.

Construction and installation projects dependent on initial estimates are using a “remote estimating service” to conduct them online. So reports Bisnow.

“Through this remote link-up process, the firm's estimators can analyze the project area via video feed and guide customers through the measuring process to issue project estimates,” according to the article. Dallas-Fort Worth-based Footprints Floors is planning to use this service even after social distancing norms disappear.

Read the full story from Bisnow.

A new report shows the “global construction equipment rental market” is expected to grow $28.86 billion in the next four years. So reports Yahoo! Finance.

The report from ResearchAndMarkets.com anticipates a CAGR of 5% in that same window. “The report on the global construction equipment rental market provides a holistic analysis, market size and forecast, trends, growth drivers, and challenges, as well as vendor analysis covering around 25 vendors,” according to the article.

Read the full story from Yahoo! Finance.

A recent survey from the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) found most contractors have expressed optimism about the financial outlook of upcoming projects and plan to continue adding workers through 2020. However, finding labor still remains a challenge.

The information comes as new federal data shows construction spending was up from November 2018 to November 2019 by 4.1% and employment grew in nearly two-thirds of the 358 metro areas measured. The Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas metro area saw the biggest jobs increase, adding 15,400 jobs (up 10%), followed by the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise area, which saw an 11,000 job (17%) increase.

“Both the actual spending totals for November and our members’ expectations for 2020 point to a continuing uptick in construction employment,” said Ken Simonson, AGC’s chief economist. “It’s likely that even more metros would have added workers recently if unemployment weren’t at record lows [in] many areas.”

According to information from the trade group, per the U.S. Census Bureau, construction spending was $1.324 trillion at a “seasonally adjusted annual rate,” which is up 0.6% from October to November. “There were year-over-year increases in all major segments—public, private residential and private nonresidential,” reads the AGC report.

Further, a separate analysis from the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) showed year-over-year non-seasonally adjusted construction unemployment was, curiously, up nationally as well as in 38 states. That same data, which was provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, showed unemployment did drop in 11 states and stayed flat in Washington.

“In November, below-average temperatures over most of the eastern half of the country likely acted as a drag on construction activity and employment,” said Bernard M. Markstein, president and chief economist of Markstein Advisors, the firm that conducted the ABC analysis. “Meanwhile, although there were above-average temperatures among the West Coast states and most Mountain states, wildfires continued to plague the region, a negative for construction in those areas.”

According to information from the ABC, as of November 2019, construction employment rose by 145,000 workers nationally over November 2018, even though the unemployment rate jumped from 3.9% to 4.4% during the same time. “This continues the trend of declining year-over-year growth in construction employment,” according to ABC. “November’s rise in year-over-year employment is the smallest increase since the January 2013 increase of 116,000.”

Per the ABC, the lowest unemployment rates were found in:

• Utah, 1.6%
• Oregon, 2.4%
• South Carolina, 2.5%
• Colorado 2.6%
• Florida 2.6%
• South Dakota 2.6%

The highest unemployment rates were in:

• Kentucky, 7.7%
• Minnesota, 8.2%
• Mississippi 8.5%
• Wyoming 8.5%
• Alaska, 13.9%

From Twitter
Sec. Wilbur Ross @SecretaryRoss
Today’s @uscensusbureau data showed continued growth in U.S. home construction (1.9%), beating market expectations. More promising news for the @realDonaldTrump economy and the #AmericanWorker as we start the new year. 

“The single greatest threat to continued growth in the construction industry is the shortage of qualified candidates for firms to hire,” said Stephen Sandherr, AGC’s chief executive officer. “That is why Congress and the Trump administration must act quickly to boost investments in career and technical education and allow more people with construction skills to legally enter the country.”

A pair of reports from leading industry trade groups shows construction input prices are down nearly 1% year-over-year while employment is up 2.4%.

Further, wages also continued to rise, with construction workers making nearly 10% more than the average private industry worker. The price report from Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) shows August input prices dropped more than half-a-percent in August alone, according to data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The biggest price drops came from the energy sector, where natural gas prices fell 33.3% and unprocessed materials dipped to the tune of 19.1%.

Anirban Basu, chief economist for the ABC, said it’s uncertain exactly what factors are responsible for driving prices down, but a faltering global economy may be to blame. “While there are a number of conceivable explanations for the decline in materials prices—including a weakening global economy—the degree to which each factor is responsible remains unclear,” he said. “The International Monetary Fund has revised its 2019 global growth outlook down four times in recent months as Latin American economies continue to stumble, and Turkey, Italy, South Africa, Germany, Russia and South Korea are flirting with or entering a recession. In addition, ongoing trade disputes continue to interrupt supply chains and delay large-scale investments in a variety of industrial facilities.”

According to the report, softwood lumber, iron, steel and steel mill products all saw price declines of around 10%. “A strong U.S. dollar is another factor that may have conceivably helped keep a lid on key import prices,” added Basu. “Another is the ongoing shale revolution, which has positioned America for leadership positions in the production of both oil and natural gas. All of these factors are associated with a surprising lack of materials price inflation at a time of significant activity in the nation’s nonresidential construction segment—a segment that remains associated with lengthy backlog and ongoing hiring.”

In contrast, a less surprising conclusion from Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) shows demand for workers continues to drive employment upwards. Per an AGC report, employment was up by 14,000 in August and 177,000 year-over-year, with experienced construction workers facing near-historic lows in unemployment. “Construction employment gains would likely have been higher if firms could find even more people to hire,” said Ken Simonson, the AGC’s chief economist. “Our survey found that 91% of respondents said their firms expect to hire in the next 12 months, but overwhelmingly, they are finding most craft positions hard to fill. Even as firms are raising pay and benefits, doing more in-house training and investing in labor-saving equipment, labor shortages are changing the way many firms bid, schedule and manage their projects.”

According to information from association officials, 80% of contractors reported have a difficult time finding “qualified hourly craft workers.” Simonson noted, though, the 2.4% growth was slower than in previous years, but well above the increases experienced in other nonfarm employment sectors.

Stephen E. Sandherr, the CEO of the association, said while construction firms are doing what they can to address the shortage, they could also use some government assistance to ease their woes. “Few other jobs in today’s economy pay as well without requiring most workers to pay for a costly college education as do careers in construction,” said Sandherr. “Construction firms are doing all they can to address workforce shortages, but it would certainly help if federal officials would boost investments in career and technical education and allow for more individuals with construction skills to legally enter the country as well.”

Scheduling software, 3D modeling tools and data collection devices are the most helpful technologies for avoiding contractor disputes. So reports Construction Dive.

Further, changes to the scope of a project were cited as the most frequent contributor for disagreements. The report was prepared by Resolution Management Consultants. Jim Gallagher, a principal at Resolution Management, added that, in instances where disputes end up in court, those very same tools can help “produce accurate records that can help construction companies … ”

Read the full article from Construction Dive.

Contractors are becoming more comfortable with new technologies, but the benefits of new software adaptation are blunted when project managers fail to properly coordinate with contractors. So reports Construction Dive.

The analysis comes from a new study by Dodge Data & Analytics in conjunction with e-Builder by Trimble. "When contractors and owners use different, disconnected systems, contractors often find themselves doing double duty trying to maintain data for both, potentially sacrificing a high level of productivity and even accuracy in the flow of work in the process," according to the article.

Click here to read the full article from Construction Dive.

In a new report from research firm Tractica, the company claims construction robot-driven revenue will jump from $22.7 million in 2018 to $226 million in the next six years. So reports Robotics Business Review.

The company also said more than 7,000 robots are expected to be in operation for construction and demolition-related tasks. One analyst said medium and large companies are looking to address “labor shortages, safety, speed, accuracy, and integration with building automation and building information modeling (BIM) systems.”  

Read the full article from Robotics Business Review.

A new report from Market and Markets shows the construction robot market is expected to surge through 2023, with an expected compound annual growth rate of 16.8%.

The increase in demand for the construction robots will come as companies look to improve the safety and quality of their work. As such, a proposal introduced into the U.S. Senate could help mitigate the impact on the labor force. The construction robot market is expected to grow close to $100 million to $166.4 million by 2023 due in large part to growing urbanization, according to information in the report.

However, there are some anticipated obstacles to its rapid expansion. “High equipment cost inhibits the construction robot market growth. Furthermore, the unpredictable layout of construction sites has been a key challenge faced by the market,” according to the report. “However, factors such as the adoption of 3D printing in the construction industry and rise in automation at construction sites can generate significant opportunities for this market.”

The role of automation has been hotly debated in recent months as policy makers continue to grapple with the potential impact automation could have on the workforce. Earlier this year, a coalition of Senators introduced a bill to extend assistance benefits to workers who lose their job as a result of automation. The proposal from Sens. Gary Peters, Joe Donnelly and Kirsten Gillibrand would extend Trade Adjustment Assistance benefits, currently used to protect workers who lose employment as a result of trade with foreign counties, to those cut due to automation.

“As technology becomes an increasingly important part of our manufacturing sector, we must be prepared to address the evolving needs of workers in this new economy,” said Peters. “I am proud to work with Senator Donnelly and Senator Gillibrand to introduce the Automation Adjustment Act, which would provide critical assistance to help ensure displaced workers have the opportunity to obtain new skills and continue earning a good living.”

One study cited by the Senators claims 85% of job losses in the manufacturing sector have come as a result of automation. They also said as many as 73 million jobs in the U.S. could be displaced by 2030 as a result of automation. “Hoosiers go to work every day to support their families, provide their kids with a good education, and retire in dignity, but a growing number of workers have lost their job due to automation,” said Donnelly. “I believe these workers should be eligible for TAA benefits, so they can access the resources they need for job training or to find new employment or occupations.”

The bill would also create an Advisory Commission to advise Department of Labor and help identify occupations at risk as a result of increased automation. It would produce an annual report and facilitate collaboration with other agencies, according to information from the Senators. The bill has the support of several trade organizations including the AFL-CIO, United Steelworkers and UAW. More information is available from the Market and Markets report and from Peters’ office.