The Blog

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs can’t make its mind up about application of the Biden administration’s controversial policy requiring project labor agreements on solicitations for federal construction contracts of $35 million or more.

National nonresidential construction spending increased 0.1% in January, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.248 trillion.

At the most recent meeting of the ABC MA Human Resources Committee, the discussion focused on the hot topic of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and enforcement actions in support of President Trump’s goal of increasing the deportation of illegal aliens.

The Associated Builders and Contractors 401 K Plan, which had previously been available only to chapters and employees of ABC, is now available to ABC member firms.

Construction input prices increased 1.4% in January compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data. Nonresidential construction input prices increased 0.9% for the month.

ABC MA’s 2025 Chair Luiza Mills is no stranger to our Chapter or the construction industry.  She advanced to her role as senior vice president at Interstate Electrical Services Corporation, the largest privately held electrical services corporation in New England, through a passion for education and a focus on details.  Those qualities have also defined Luiza’s contributions to ABC.

The construction industry added 4,000 jobs on net in January, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has increased by 178,000 jobs, an increase of 2.2%.

Associated Builders and Contractors reported that its Construction Backlog Indicator increased to 8.4 months in January, according to an ABC member survey conducted Jan. 21 to Feb. 3. The reading is unchanged from January 2024.

Associated Builders and Contractors celebrated a Feb. 7 decision by the U.S. Department of Defense that will restore merit-based competition for taxpayer-funded construction projects procured by military agencies.

Glen Pisani of MAS Building & Bridge has a piece of advice for general contractors when it comes to steel erectors: “Make sure the people on your site are qualified, because mistakes can be catastrophic and skimping on quality isn’t the way to save money.”