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Tag: Economy: Page 19

Construction Equipment

Machinery orders nudge upwards

A little good news to end the week. Orders placed with U.S. factories rose in February, the first time in seven months, according to the Commerce Department. This reflects a 1.8 percent rebound in the demand for construction equipment, computers, cars, aircraft and other durable goods.

January 6, 2010

PCA forecasts a slow housing recovery

With plenty of screwball mortages yet to come due, an uptick in the residential construction industry won’t appear until mid-2010 to 2011, say Ed Sullivan, the chief economist for the Portland Cement Association. And even that won’t happen unless there’s some improvement in the pace of sales and a reduction in inventory, he says. Of the forecasters we follow […]

January 6, 2010

Cat posts unexpectedly large loss

If there is a bellwether report on the state of heavy construction and mining it’s Caterpillar’s quarterly financial statements. And today’s first quarter news was bleak. Analysts had anticipated earnings of 8 cents per share and net income of around $8.71 billion. What the company announced today was a loss of 19 cents per share on […]

January 6, 2010

Construction numbers surprise to the upside

Although economists were predicting as much as a 3.5 percent drop in construction spending in March, the numbers just released by the Commerce Department show an increase of 0.3 percent. It’s not much but it is the first time the numbers have reached into positive territory in six months. And commercial construction logged an impressive 2 […]

January 6, 2010

AGC cautions against optimistic numbers

Saying today’s construction numbers from the Commerce Department reflect big factory and refinery projects started before the economy went south, Ken Simonson, the chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, doubts the industry will come out of it’s slump anytime soon. In fact, he says, the construction industry as a whole may be […]

January 6, 2010

Construction predicted to rise next year

Reports out in the mainstream media today indicated that construction activity may pick up some next year. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that “starts” will increase 11 percent although it’s not clear what they mean by “starts.” Residential? Commercial? Infrastructure? As we’ve reported before, residential construction has to rebound at some point. Demographics mandate […]

January 6, 2010

Missouri DOT ahead of schedule with stimulus projects

Although stimulus money is available, some states have been scrambling to obligate these funds so they don’t lose them. Looks like the “Show Me” state is showing their plans for the money — and doing so early. The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT ) announced today that it has obligated more than 50 percent of […]

January 6, 2010

A Roadmap to Recovery

Vice President Joe Biden is presenting to President Barack Obama the Roadmap to Recovery at today’s Cabinet meeting. The Roadmap is an Administration-wide effort to accelerate implementation of the stimulus act in its second 100 days. The White House says the Roadmap spotlights 10 new major projects that will define the next three months of […]

January 6, 2010

Intelligent transportation, intelligent investment

Investment in intelligent transportation is critical as Congress works toward developing a jobs bill to address the current unemployment level. That’s the sentiment of Scott Belcher, CEO and president, Intelligent Transportation Society of America, in The Hill’s Congress Blog. Belcher is spot on. Infrastructure is one of the areas that should receive major investment when […]

December 8, 2009

Looked at your cell phone bill lately?

If it seems like you’re spending a lot of money on mobile phones and data, there’s a new service from Bench Consulting that claims to be able to cut your telecom bills by up to 30 percent. In these recessionary times, it only makes sense to find money wherever you can.

June 16, 2009

Caltrans allocates $128 million to transportation projects

The California Transportation Commission today allocated $128 million to 75 transportation projects statewide, including $36 million in economic stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, a.k.a. the stimulus. This is good news for the construction industry. With every project that has funds obligated, it means more money will be injected into the […]

June 11, 2009

Budget cuts illustrated

Now that the new administration in Washington says they’re getting serious about budget cuts and restraint, the folks over at the Heritage Foundation wanted you to see just how big these cuts would be. Sometimes pictures speak louder than words:

April 20, 2009

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