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Construction industry adds jobs as unemployment rate falls
Construction employers added 17,000 jobs in October while the construction industry's unemployment rate fell to 11.4 percent, according to an analysis of new federal data released by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). Association officials noted that total construction employment levels have changed little during the past year while the declines in the industry’s unemployment rate are coming as more former workers leave the industry. “Despite five consecutive months of construction employment gains, the overall employment picture is essentially unchanged from a year ago,” says Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. “Construction employment appears stuck in a state of mild monthly flux with little change to the overall number of jobs.” Construction firms employed 5.539 million people in October, up from 5.522 in September. The sector's overall employment in October is 20,000, or 0.4 percent, higher than one year earlier when firms employed 5.519 million workers. However, Simonson noted that overall construction employment remains down by nearly 2.2 million compared to six years ago, when the sector's employment peaked… Keep Reading
Vulcan names new COO, shifts other leaders around
Danny Shepherd, formerly executive vice president of construction aggregates at Vulcan Materials Co., has been appointed the company's executive vice president and COO. The company has also appointed Robert Wason, Michael Mills and John McPherson to new positions within the company. Wason, who has served as senior vice president, general counsel, will retire in October 2013 and assume the role of senior advisor to the executive management team until that time. Mills, who has served as senior vice president of Vulcan's East region, has been appointed senior vice president, general counsel. Mills will also serve as Vulcan's corporate compliance officer. McPherson, who has served as senior vice president of strategic planning and business development, will replace Mills as senior vice president of Vulcan's East region. Keep Reading
NSSGA appoints Edwards as president, CEO
Gus Edwards, NSSGA’s executive vice president since 2008, has been elected by the board of directors to succeed Joy Pinniger as the association’s president and CEO upon her retirement Nov. 2. Edwards began his service with the National Stone Association (NSA) in 1997 as vice president for public affairs. After the merger of NSA and the National Aggregates Association in 2000, he continued as vice president of communications and community relations until his appointment as executive vice president. Before joining NSA, Edwards served as vice president for environment, health and safety with The Jefferson Group, a Washington, D.C., consulting firm. He had previously served as U.S. deputy assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and deputy assistant administrator for external affairs at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Those appointments were preceded by 12 years working on Capitol Hill as chief of staff to a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and a U.S. senator. Edwards, his wife, Anne, and their two daughters reside in Alexandria, Va. Keep Reading
CalCIMA recognizes producers for safety at conference
The California Construction & Industrial Materials Association (CalCIMA) recognized Lehigh Hanson and Santa Fe Aggregates for their dedication to safety at the recent CalCIMA 2012 Education Conference. Lehigh Hanson's Carroll Canyon plant in San Diego was recognized in the Large Aggregate Mine category. According to CalCIMA, the plant is exceptional for motivating personnel, establishing a safety culture and serving as a testing ground for new safety programs. Santa Fe Aggregates, meanwhile, was recognized in the Small Aggregate Mine category. The company's plant in Waterford, Calif., was specifically honored. CalCIMA says the mine has created a caring, family atmosphere where employees can talk openly about safety. Lehigh Hanson and Santa Fe Aggregates were selected, along with two other safety winners, from among 27 applications. CalCIMA also named John Hecht, president of Sespe Consulting Inc., the winner of its Associate of the Year Award. The award recognizes someone for dedication to the association, commitment to membership and outstanding support for the industry. Keep Reading
Report: Construction starts to increase further
McGraw-Hill Construction is predicting total U.S. construction starts for 2013 to rise 6 percent to $483.7 billion, a mark that's slightly higher than the 5 percent increase to $458 billion estimated for this year. McGraw-Hill Construction made the prediction in its 2013 Dodge Construction Outlook. "This still leaves the volume of total construction starts 32 percent below the 2005 peak on a current dollar basis, and down about 50 percent when viewed on a constant dollar basis," says Robert Murray, McGraw-Hill Construction's vice president of economic affairs. "The modest gains experienced during the past two years have in effect produced an extended bottom for construction starts, in which the process of recovery is being stretched out." Other developments noted in McGraw-Hill Construction's outlook are that single-family housing will grow 24 percent in dollars, corresponding to a 21 percent increase in units to 615,000; multifamily housing will rise 16 percent in dollars and 14 percent in units, marking healthy percentage gains yet slower growth than what took place during 2011 and 2012;… Keep Reading
Martin Marietta worker death under investigation
A Martin Marietta Materials Inc. worker died recently at the company's mine in Weeping Water, Neb. Details of the worker death have not yet been released as the incident is currently under investigation. "It is with great sadness that we confirm the death of our employee at our Weeping Water mine in Nebraska," the company said in a statement. "The details surrounding this incident are under investigation. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and fellow employees who have been affected by this tragic event." Keep Reading
Portable jaw plant among Metso event highlights
Metso hosted a new product expo for distributors and producers Oct. 24-25 at its facility in Columbia, S.C., where new and improved products like the Lokotrack LT106 portable jaw plant, the C120 jaw crusher and the HP3 cone crusher were highlighted. Metso representatives also led best-practice seminars on crusher wear part selection, maintenance practices for mobile equipment and safety. Metso's LT106, built around the company's C106 jaw and pictured at right, was redesigned with a number of enhanced features. According to Metso, the new model is more reliable than its predecessor because of a robust crusher drive and a heavy-duty air filtration system that requires less maintenance. Jouni Hulttinen, a Metso product manager, says the plant can be fitted with a Cat C9.3 Tier 4 engine or a C9 Tier 3 model, and that fuel consumption can been reduced by as much as 30 percent. "The lowest fuel consumption is achieved at 1,800 rpms," says Hulttinen, who adds that the LT106 uses about 6 gallons per hour. The LT106's crushing… Keep Reading
Aggregates suppliers find golden opportunity on TV
Two aggregates industry suppliers are touting their roles this season on the TV show "Gold Rush," which premiered Oct. 26 on Discovery Channel. KPI-JCI and Polydeck Screen Corp. both had the opportunity to work with the show's famed Hoffman crew. KPI-JCI manufactured a washing plant for crew's gold mining operation near Dawson City in the Yukon Territory, and Polydeck manufactured screen media to size and separate gold-bearing rock for the crew. “The top deck takes a lot of abuse from jagged bedrock,” says Todd Hoffman, the crew boss, referring to Polydeck's screen media. “This media wears better than steel. We’ve put more than 100,000 yards across it, and we expect it to last another season." Keep Reading
Construction-put-in-place expected to top $1 trillion in 2014
With construction put in place (CPIP) at the end of 2012 expected to be between $826 and $884 billion, researchers at FMI are predicting CPIP growth rates to be slightly ahead of GDP in 2013 and 2014. This would place the CPIP at more than $1 trillion by the end of 2014, nearly 6 percent of GDP. FMI is predicting residential CPIP to return to double-digit growth next year, as well. The firm also expects transportation and health care CPIP to reach record levels by 2013. At the same time, FMI expects commercial buildings, offices, manufacturing facilities, communications systems and lodging CPIP to continue to underperform in 2013 at an average of 60 percent of 2008 levels. By 2016, FMI expects these sectors to reach 70 percent of 2008 CPIP. Keep Reading
