Dive Brief:
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DuPont did not open its new $200 million ethanol plant in Iowa by Jan. 1 as planned because its contractor was unable to recruit enough workers to finish building it.
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Specifically, Fagen Inc. of Granite Falls, MN, had difficulty hiring pipefitters and millwrights, leaving a large amount of pipework unfinished by the scheduled opening, according to researchers at Industrial Info Resources.
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DuPont has estimated that the plant will open in March. The facility will produce 30 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol—fuel made from corn cobs and stalks—every year.
Dive Insight:
As demand for construction labor grows, more contractors are facing delays as they are unable to hire qualified workers. In December, the unemployment rate among construction workers fell to 8.3 percent.
Two months earlier, 84% of Midwestern construction firms responding to an Associated General Contractors of America survey said they were having trouble filling jobs.