A December 1 Bloomberg article projects sales of Build America Bonds to rise to 40 percent of the 2009 monthly average of $6.56 billion.  This would mean increased yearly total sales of $110 billion in 2010.  Build America Bonds, which allow state and local governments to receive 35 percent of their interest from the U.S. Treasury, are a more cost effective way to seek lower total borrowing costs.

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Register to attend the upcoming BIM Technology course at the Winter 2010 BIMForum - details below
 

The second course in the AGC Building Information Modeling (BIM) Education Program, Unit 2: BIM Technology, is now available. BIM Technology covers the common characteristics of BIM applications in use today and specific processes for planning, organizing and deploying BIM tools throughout the life of a project.

This program will help contractors develop a solid understanding of the available BIM solutions, their functionality and how they relate to the various construction phases before making a software purchasing decision, ultimately increasing return on investment and assisting with overall BIM implementation efforts.

AGC BIM Education Program courses are offered by AGC Chapters and other educational institutions around the country. Interested individuals can visit the AGC national course calendar for information on upcoming BIM Technology* course offerings at www.agc.org/BIMEP, or contact your local AGC Chapter (Find a Chapter).

For those interested in purchasing the BIM Technology Participant's Manual as a reference guide or the BIM Technology Instructor's Guide, visit www.agc.org/Bookstore or call 1-800-242-1767. Orders will be shipped starting January 8, 2010.

BIM Technology is a two-day course and includes:

Session 1: BIM Technology, Capabilities, Process and Tools

Module 1-Technology

Module 2-Capabilities

Module 3-Process

Module 4-Tools

Session 2: Estimating/QTO, Scheduling, and Coordination

Module 1-Conceptual Estimating and Quantity Takeoff

Module 2-Scheduling

Module 3-Coordination and Interoperability

BIM Technology Course at the Winter 2010 BIMForum - January 11-17 in Phoenix

The Winter 2010 BIMForum will focus on the varied uses of a building information model for the life of the project - from design to construction to post-facilities management. In addition, the Winter BIMForum will include an optional BIM Technology course (to be held January 11-12) and a Pre-Fabrication Facilities Tour (to be held January 13) held for interested attendees.

Find out more at www.agc.org/cs/winter_2010_bimforum.

*BIM 101 is a recommended prerequisite to BIM Technology.

The employment report that the Bureau of Labor Statistics released on December 4 contains tentative good news. The unemployment rate fell from 10.2 percent in October to 10 percent in November, seasonally adjusted. Job losses fell to 11,000, the lowest monthly decline since the recession began in December 2007.

Even the construction industry showed partial improvement, thought it was likely due to unseasonably warm and dry weather. Seasonally adjusted construction job losses dropped in half, to 27,700. For the first time in more than a year, one of the five construction segments-heavy and civil engineering construction-recorded a monthly gain (5,200 jobs, or 0.6%).

However, the overall picture for construction remains dismal. The industry's unemployment rate in November was again the highest of any industry at 19.4 percent, more than double the all-worker average of 9.4 percent, not seasonally adjusted. (Industry rates are not available on a seasonally adjusted basis.) Even the heavy and civil engineering employment gain is suspect, because that segment is particularly sensitive to weather conditions, which may have been milder than usual.

Two forward-looking indicators of construction employment are ominous. Architectural and engineering services employment fell again in November, bringing the one-year job loss in that industry to 8.1 percent. If designers are cutting jobs now, there will be fewer projects for contractors to bid on next year.

On December 8, Manpower Inc., released its latest quarterly survey of hiring plans for next quarter among 28,000 U.S. employers in 12 sectors. In all four regions of the country, construction had by far the most negative hiring outlook. Between 18 percent and 27 percent of construction firms expect to decrease employment, while only 8 percent to 12 percent expect an increase, for a net employment outlook ranging from -8 percent in the South to -19 percent in the Northeast. In comparison, the all-employment national outlook is for no net change in employment in the first quarter of 2010.

Quick enactment of legislation to provide more funding for highways and other public works could add momentum to the one-month rise in heavy and civil engineering construction. But total nonresidential employment is not likely to turn positive until the economy has grown for several quarters.

For more information, contact Ken Simonson at (703) 837-5313 or simonsonk@agc.org.

A Bloomberg article states that "Tax-exempt bonds are an 'inefficient' way to subsidize state and local borrowing for infrastructure like roads and schools and cost the U.S. Treasury $26 billion a year, a congressional study says.  States and cities benefit more from Qualified School Construction Bonds, which provide federal tax credits, and Build America Bonds that subsidize interest costs."

For the entire article, please click here.