Contractors see a real recovery and are starting to raise headcounts again

Contractors are adding people as business begins to rise on the recovery wave, and they believe it may be real.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 18, 2013

Rental companies made almost half of U.S. equipment purchases last year

Contractors' decision to rent rather than buy equipment in uncertain times made rental companies the buyers for almost half of new equipment last year.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 17, 2013

Explore the Trendline➔

Labor

A roundup of articles about issues affecting the workforce.

By Construction Dive staff

Housing starts end 2012 at highest rate in 4½ years

Combined single-family and multifamily starts hit a pace of 954,000 units in December, a rate unseen since June 2008.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 17, 2013

Home builders stand pat on their view of the market, survey finds

 The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index stuck at its December mark this month, perhaps indicating the industry is waiting on Washington

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 17, 2013

Project targets Pittsburgh's last big former industrial site

The 178 acres that once were LTV Steel along the Monongahela River are being proposed for a tax-increment financing deal to fund a $1 billion redevelopment.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 16, 2013

Demand is easing a bit, but apartment construction growth races on

At a conference on multifamily building, market-watchers said investment is still focused on apartment development.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 16, 2013

Pentagon sharpens spending ax to be ready if Congress cannot agree on budget plan

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has a public plan ready, and construction spending will take a hit.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 16, 2013

History lesson: Recoveries can be worse than recessions for contractors

The failure rate for construction businesses is three times worse during recoveries than during downturns over the last 40 years.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 15, 2013

December material prices make 2012 a surprisingly stable year overall

Prices for many used in construction held about even with the year before, though some, such as lumber and paint, were having none of that.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 15, 2013

Pulling back from the 'fiscal cliff' was good for the housing industry

When Congress pulled out of the nation's dive off the New Year's fiscal cliff, it benefited home building.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 14, 2013

Sears bringing development to downtown St. Paul, Minn.

The retail giant plans to replace 700 parking spaces with retail and office and parking garage near the Minnestota State Capitol.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 13, 2013

Most Read Construction News of the Week: N.Y. crane crash, jobs and Gen. Y

End the week informed. Here are the most popular Construction Dive news posts of the week in a nutshell.

By Brian Warmoth • Jan. 10, 2013

Now we know what 'qualified mortgage' means in federal rules

The Consumer Financial Protection Board has issued rules that define the term established in financial reform laws passed after the housing collapse.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 10, 2013

Dodge Index of coming nonresidential projects began to grow again in December

McGraw-Hill's index signals construction activity about a year in advance and resumed earlier 2012 growth that had stalled during economic uncertainty in the fall.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 9, 2013

Taxes and fees lag highway-maintenance needs and affect construction industry

Neither state nor federal programs are bringing in the revenue it takes to have contractors maintain the highway infrastructure in the U.S.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 8, 2013

How this year will roll, as AGC's economist sees it

Ken Simonson expects private-sector construction spending this year to offset shrinking public-sector opportunities and result in a net gain of 5% to 10%.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 7, 2013

IPO market beginning to feel the love for home builders as investment opportunities

No home builder has come onto the stock exchanges since 2004, but it looks like that drought will end in 2013, perhaps this month.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 7, 2013

Survey finds Americans regaining confidence that home values will rise

In its December survey of how people feel nationally about housing, Fannie Mae found that almost half think home prices will continue to rise.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 7, 2013

Jobs data for states show that it's a lumpy recovery across the U.S.

Lest stories about "the recovery" be too broadly interpreted, an investment blog broke down the data to show which states have had the strongest recoveries based on unemployment rates and which are still hurting.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 7, 2013

Generation Y is changing what multifamily developers build

Shocked by what's required for home ownership, renters age 20-34 are valuing amenities over space as they seek apartments.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 6, 2013

Most Read Construction News of the Week: Prefab apartments and modeling with light

What were Construction Dive readers looking at in the first week of 2013? Click here to find out.

By Brian Warmoth • Jan. 4, 2013

Growth in construction jobs last month is really about residential progress

Residential accounts for 18,100 of 30,000 new jobs in December, and nonresidential was behind its December 2011 level.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 4, 2013

Prices look good as housing heads into the second lap of the race to recovery

Data firm Trulia says consistent price increases through 2012 put the market in a good position to keep up the pace this year.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 3, 2013

Gilbane: Construction jobs grew in '12 as spending crept up, and '13 will see more

This year should see a gain of 4.9% in nonresidential construction spending, like 2012 did, but with no help from the public sector.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 3, 2013

November nonresidential construction goes downhill

Despite that, however, Associated Builders and Contractors thinks there is pent-up demand for building.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 2, 2013