Tag: construction: Page 228

Gear

Bobcat launches 3600, 3650 utility vehicles with PTO attachments

This morning, Bobcat announced two utility vehicles that feature interchangeable, front-mounted PTO attachments. The UTVs, dubbed the 3600 and 3650, were co-developed by Bobcat and Polaris and are powered by Yanmar Diesel engines and a hydrostatic-drive system. The 3600 and the 3650 start at $15,000 and $25,000 respectively. Patty Vaughan, from our sister site Total […]

March 7, 2013

Construction Equipment

Ford shows its new take on Transit commerical van design at Work Truck Show

Ford  Motor Company announced Tuesday at the NTEA Work Truck Show the introduction of the all-new Transit chassis cab and cutaway models, which it says is engineered to tackle an almost unlimited variety of specialized jobs and vocations. The company also unveiled the next-generation Transit Connect compact van/wagon. Tim Stoehr, commercial truck marketing manager for […]

March 6, 2013

Business

Senate bill would create incentives for private transportation investment

As the federal government continues to search for ways to grapple with the country’s slowly crumbling infrastructure, two Senators have introduced a bill to the U.S. Senate that would establish a Department of Transportation fund designed to create incentives for private investment into transportation, our sister site CCJ reports. Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and John […]

March 5, 2013

Business

ABC selects Excellence in Construction Awards recipients

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) has selected the winners of its annual Excellence in Construction Awards celebration, a competition which recognizes the top construction projects and the firms that displayed exemplary commitment to safety and diversity in 2012. ABC congratulated the winners on February 20 at the Harbor Beach Marriott Resort in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. […]

March 5, 2013

Technology

Drones may one day build skyscrapers

We’ve seen how unmanned aerial vehicles can be used for surveying. But how about being used to construct a full-fledged skyscraper on their own? The Smithsonian Magazine’s Design Decoded blog has a really interesting piece just that. According to the article, Swiss architects Gramazio & Kohler, in collaboration with Professor Raffaello D’Andrea, developed a method they call “Flight […]

March 4, 2013

Business

Transportation Sec. LaHood: “Sequester is dumb”

Our sister publication Overdrive reports that during an address to members of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials outgoing Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood called the looming sequestration cuts a “meat axe approach.” The sequester is a set of across-the-board budget cuts scheduled to hit today, should Congress not come to an agreement on […]

March 1, 2013

Business

Time management, new strategies key to success in post-recession construction industry

Lately we’ve been hearing the recession is finally over. Whether you agree or not, some negative lingering effects have already begun. One of the most visible and immediate impacts is the uptick in workloads from the top down. Many construction companies out there are now dealing with smaller staffs, more work and less time. And […]

February 28, 2013

Construction Equipment

Behind the scenes: Ritchie Bros. auctions $176 million in equipment in Orlando

When the last gavel fell at Ritchie Bros.’ annual big auction last week the company had sold more than 9,400 items, mostly construction equipment and trucks, totalling $176 million. This year the company invited us to observe how the big auction works. If nothing else, the sheer spectacle, size and scale of the event, and […]

February 27, 2013

Business

Architecture Billings Index jumps to 54.2, bodes well for construction

Each month the American Institute of Architects releases its Architecture Billings Index and the latest round shows an increase to 54.2 in January. Any reading above a 50 on the index indicates a rise in demand for design services. The index indicates good things for construction because architectural billings tend to lead actual construction of projects […]

February 25, 2013

Business

Hitachi restores excavator production in China

After shutting down operations for half a month last year at its excavator plant in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui, Hitachi Construction Machinery is now gradually increasing production there, Bloomberg reports. Chinese construction equipment sales fell 19 percent in 2012 to $32.3 billion, according to Bloomberg data. Like Komatsu, who a few days ago spoke […]

February 21, 2013

Business

Construction materials prices rise 0.7% in January

National construction materials prices increased 0.7 percent percent in January, according to the latest Associated Builders and Contractors Producer Price Index (PPI) report. In the year between January 2012 and January 2013, materials rose 1.3 percent. ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu said he expects construction materials prices to remain volatile for the remainder of 2013. The report […]

February 20, 2013

Workforce

Economists forecast housing-fueled construction job growth

Goldman Sachs economists recently forecasted a housing recovery-fueled increase to the pace of added jobs each month to between 25,000 and 30,000, CNBC reported. In 2012 that pace averaged out at 14,000 per month. Due to the 1.5 million jobs lost in residential construction between 2006 and 2011, the economists warn that even with the […]

February 20, 2013