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Tag: Economy: Page 16

Virginia eyes offshore drilling funds for infrastructure

Although still years from actually sinking an offshore oil well, the state of Virginia is considering using royalties from these future oil wells as a way to finance roads, schools and environmental initiatives. The senate majority leader tried to get the future money earmarked for the general fund, but was defeated. The bill passed the house and […]

February 25, 2010

Granite Construction Q4 2009 results: Revenue down 27%, net income down 40% but balance sheet strong

Watsonville, Calif. -based Granite Construction Inc. on Feb. 24 reported it’s fourth-quarter 2009 quarterly and full-year earnings, showing that the major construction company hasn’t escaped the recession unscathed but it’s still doing well despite the current tough economy. (Click here for the full press release on Granite Construction.) “We delivered the goods on our projects in 2009 […]

February 25, 2010

CARB postpones emissions compliance

Citing construction’s deep economic dip, the California Air Resources Board says it will issue a postponement of its March 1 emissions compliance deadline, and “until further notice, no enforcement action will be taken for noncompliance.” “The construction industry has felt the sting of the faltering economy with reduced activity and idled off-road equipment,” says James […]

February 12, 2010

Small biz to Feds: ‘Get out of the way’

Bloomberg has a column today that pretty well sums up why the recovery is taking so long. According to the small business owners quoted the government’s tax credits for hiring new workers is all smoke and mirrors and the regulatory burdens the government continues to add at all levels is choking the life out of […]

February 11, 2010

Release of Nationwide Construction Employment and Business Forecast for 2010 at 1 p.m. EST Jan. 20

On Wednesday, Jan. 20 at 1 p.m. EST, the Associated General Contractors of America will release its construction employment and business forecast for 2010 during a media conference call at (888) 299-4099 (verbal pass code VT64810). The forecast will include the estimated percentage of construction companies planning to hire or lay people off during […]

January 15, 2010

Obama expects unemployment to continue to rise

Fantastic. I’ve now learned that not only is the United States in the most debt it has ever been in — $1 trillion, with a possible $2 million deficit by later this year — but unemployment is expected to continue to rise. I thought the idea of the nearly trillion-dollar stimulus plan was to get […]

January 15, 2010

Another Band-Aid: House passes $7 billion to shore up the Highway Trust Fund

Well, it’s not the ideal solution, but this Band-Aid will at least keep the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) solvent. Just days before the HTF was going to run into the red, the House yesterday approved $7 billion to shore up the almost empty fund, according to a Reuters report in The Washington Post. This stop-gap […]

January 15, 2010

Fuzzy funding may mean bad news for highway projects and economy

Although an 18-month extension for SAFETEA-LU is in the works as a temporary measure after the legislation expires Sept. 30, we still have a major problem. First, we need to make sure we make some progress on developing the next surface transportation bill during this extension instead of waiting 18 months and then starting on it. […]

January 15, 2010

Stimulus spending: “A trickle instead of a torrent”

That’s how AGC chief economist Ken Simonson characterized the stimulus bill’s infrastructure spending thus far in his report on nonresidential construction today. From June to July public nonresidential construction slipped 0.8 percent. Private nonresidential construction fell 1.2 percent following a 2.2 percent decline the month before. This marks the fifth straight monthly decline in private nonres. Simonson […]

January 15, 2010

Meet the new manufacturing czar

A lot of people agree that the country’s manufacturing sector needs to get healthy before the economy can shake off the recession and start to grow again. That’s why the appointment of a manufacturing czar ought to be closely scrutinized. Obama’s new man to lead our factories out of the wilderness has just been announced. […]

January 15, 2010

New York pinched pennies with stimulus money, results in 34 new projects

Given the current economy, it seems like everyone is trying to make the most with the least. We’re all stretching our pennies, and the State of New York is no exception. According to a report in The Business Review (Albany), New York has saved enough money in awarding federal stimulus money that it can finance […]

January 12, 2010

Fix the economy? Fix construction first

Stephen Sandherr, top dog at the Associated General Contractors of America, stirred up some national media attention with his comments yesterday. Too bad Obama doesn’t have a construction czar.

January 11, 2010

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