The Blog

Associated Builders and Contractors reports that its Construction Backlog Indicator inched up to 8.5 months in November from 8.4 months in October, according to an ABC member survey conducted Nov. 20 to Dec. 4. The reading is down 0.7 months from November 2022.

Though it feels like the year just started a few weeks ago, somehow this will be my final message as ABC MA chair. I’m honored to serve as our Chapter’s first female chair, and to have that honor in the same year that Maura Healey, the first woman elected Governor of Massachusetts, assumed office.

A contractor’s association is balking that a proposed OSHA rule would allow employees to invite union reps onto non-union jobsites, under the pretext of third-part representation during OSHA inspections.

The construction industry added 23,000 jobs on net in October, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has increased by 219,000 jobs, an increase of 2.8%.

Associated Builders and Contractors and its Southeast Texas chapter today announced the filing of a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, challenging the U.S. Department of Labor’s controversial final rule, Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Regulations, which applies to federal and federally assisted construction projects funded by taxpayers.

Earlier this month, over 200 members gathered at the Four Points by Sheraton in Norwood for the 31st annual Excellence in Construction Awards (EICA) dinner to honor the very best in merit shop construction. Fourteen projects were honored.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1—National nonresidential construction spending increased 0.3% in September, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.1 trillion.

According to the Institute for Risk Management, contractors should have a written Quality Management Program. As IRM notes, “A contractor must have a robust quality management program as it is critical to the overall success of a construction project.” An effective Contractor Quality Management (CQM) program

Eric Forish, who has worked for more than half a century at the family company his parents founded 77 years ago, will close Forish Construction and retire by the end of this calendar year.

What could a highly skilled financial advisor have in common with Columbo, the iconic 1970’s TV detective who wasn’t exactly known for his financial acumen? If the financial advisor is Pat DiCerbo of Northwestern Mutual, the answer is more than you would think.