Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the second quarter inflation was at a forty-year high of 5.4%.  The core consumer price increase was 8.3% (excluding food and energy). To the Construction industry, Inflation is a four-letter word.  Until recently, this word had slipped out...

In Georgia, many things are returning to normal.  For example, weekend traffic on the roads is back and close to the congested experience prior to the pandemic.  Comments about workday traffic include similar observations.  The expected impact will be an increase in the truck traffic...

The Windy City isn’t among the easiest places to manage a major construction project, what with its oftentimes confusing politics and—more recently—the perfect storm of COVID-19 and mass protests that have brought so much business to a standstill. Such obstacles notwithstanding, the latest addition to Hilton's...

In March, the US Government announced their intention to level new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.   Tariffs on steel were to be 25% and aluminum was to be 10%.  The United States Department of Commerce indicates that the U.S. is the world’s largest importer...

The Ongoing Concern for Skilled Laborers in the Construction Industry is Getting Worse During the last seven years, the construction market has demonstrated healthy and steady growth.  The recent natural disasters across the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean can only continue to impact the ever increasing gap...

The Federal Government inflation information clearly does not match current Construction industry pricing where everything is rising.  Engineering News Record reported that the year over year growth in prices is 3.4% - significantly higher than the Federal Government inflation rate of 1% (the government continually...

Over the last 40 years, I have found construction cycles to be fairly consistent and a good method for forecasting the construction business trends.  Coupled with leading indicators, they often will provide a clear vision of the future before it arrives. Prices Rising Recent increases in material...