The Blog

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.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11—Construction input prices increased 0.2% in September 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 0.2% for the month as well.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2—National nonresidential construction spending increased 0.4% in August, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.09 trillion.

October is Careers in Construction Month, and this year’s theme is “Building Construction Career Dreams.” At a time when ABC estimates that 546,000 additional people will be needed to meet national construction demand, the issue has never been more important.

ABC MA’s Building our Future Scholarship awarded scholarships to six students this academic year who are pursuing a post-secondary construction education, including three scholarships awarded to students enrolled in a trade apprenticeship program with ABC’s Gould Construction Institute and two pursuing construction management degrees at Wentworth Institute of Technology.

On Sept. 7, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council’s final rule on the Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects, which would mandate anti-competitive and inflationary project labor agreements on large-scale federal construction contracts, arrived at the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for review. This is the final step before the rule will be published in the Federal Register and take effect.

On Aug. 25, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board issued its decision in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC, which imposes a new framework that greatly expands the Board’s ability to impose unions on employees without a secret ballot election. The Board’s decision overrules precedent that has stood for over half a century.