A recent AIA survey predicted that non-residential construction spending will be down 20 percent at the end of the year and then gradually recover in 2011, reported Reuters. Though the overall economy has slowly been picking up, non-residential construction typically lags the progress of the general economy and employment growth in particular.  The AIA did forcast for a positive 2011, predicting a growth of just over three percent in non-residential construction.

According to Reed Construction Data's Jim Haughey, 13 states have budget reserves of one percent or less, thus making interim spending cuts inevitable.  Many states budgeted for additional stimulus funds, and they will have to trim their budgets if additional grants are not received.  Only 17 states have reserves of five percent or more, an amount that is enough to maintain spending even with budget shortfalls.  This means that most states will need to expect construction budget cuts.

For more from Reed Construction Data, please click here.

AGC has compiled a new resource for all things Buy American on its website. The new page describes the differences between "Buy American," "Buy America," and the Recovery Act Buy American provisions.

The page also catalogues AGC's standing policy of opposition to expansion of the Buy American Act, a description of the Recovery Act rules and regulations governing the Recovery Act Buy American provisions (both for direct-federal and federal-aid work), AGC's analysis of several key provisions of the rules and regulations, and a catalogue of waivers guidance from agencies that have construction portfolios. This valuable new comprehensive resource is located at www.agc.org/buyamerican and will be updated on an ongoing basis as new information is released from the agencies.

For more information, contact Scott Berry at (703)837-5368 or berrys@agc.org.

Five leading construction industry associations joined the ConsensusDOCS Coalition last month. With the addition of these organizations, we continue to expand the participation of DOCS - design professionals, owners, contractors, subcontractors and other industry-related stakeholders.

The new coalition members are:

• Women Construction Owners & Executives, USA (WCOE)
• Door and Hardware Institute (DHI)
• National Ground Water Association (NGWA)
• American Society of Professional Estimators (ASPE)
• Construction Specifications Institute (CSI)

ConsensusDOCS are the only standard contract documents with a coalition of 28 leading construction industry associations, including The Associated General Contractors of America.

As an AGC member, you receive a 20 percent discount on all ConsensusDOCS products.  Just visit www.ConsensusDOCS.org and enter:

Partner Code: AGC
Promotional Code: 100

For more information, contact Carrie Ciliberto at cilibertoc@agc.org or (703) 837-5367.