Construction contractors continue to be squeezed between rising materials costs and falling output prices, according to AGC's new analysis of materials costs. AGC noted that even as the producer price index leapt in April for key construction components, the amount contractors charge for construction services remains depressed.

Read AGC's press release here.

Increases in public-sector construction spending, driven by stimulus funds, helped boost total construction activity by almost $2 billion between February and March, according to AGC's analysis of federal spending figures released Monday.

The figures show that the stimulus has gone from slowing declines in construction spending to contributing to increases, AGC said. Read the release here.

For more information, contact Brian Turmail at (703) 837-5310 or turmailb@agc.org.

AGC connected the Wall Street Journal with chief economist Ken Simonson to comment for a story about how one company has begun all-too-rare construction of a corporate headquarters to take advantage of low construction costs.

Read the article, Japanese Firm Makes a Mark in Chicago, here.

For more information, contact Brian Turmail at (703) 837-5310 or turmailb@agc.org.

Construction employment expanded in 26 states and the District of Columbia between February and March 2010, yet only Arkansas and North Dakota have more construction workers than they did a year ago, according to AGC's analysis of federal employment figures released Friday.

The new figures, while offering room for optimism, underscore how far the industry is from a recovery, AGC said.  Read AGC's press release here.

CNBC covered the the story here, as well as the Seattle Times and Phoenix Business Journal.

Construction spending tumbled in February by $11.6 billion, or 1.3 percent, to $846 billion, a low last recorded in 2002, according to AGC's analysis of new federal figures. Declines occurred relative to both the month before and February 2009 in most categories of private residential and nonresidential construction, as well as public construction, AGC's chief economist Ken Simonson noted.

Read the press release here.

Construction spending in January fell by $5.5 billion to $884 billion, its lowest level since June 2003, according to AGC's analysis of new federal figures. Declining investments in private-sector non-residential construction and public construction at all levels of government drove the decline, AGC's chief economist Ken Simonson said.

Read AGC's press release here.

For more information, contact Brian Turmail at (703) 837-5310 or turmailb@agc.org.

Overall U.S. job growth continued to be undermined by the severe downturn affecting the construction industry as another 75,000 construction workers lost their jobs in January 2010 and the industry's unemployment rate jumped to 24.7 percent, according to federal employment figures released Friday.  Excluding construction job losses, nonfarm payroll employment actually rose for the second time in three months, AGC said.

Read the full press release here. The news was covered by Reuters, San Diego Union Tribune and the Philadelphia Inquirer, among others.

For more information, contact Brian Turmail at (703) 837-5310 or turmailb@agc.org.

AGC's Ken Simonson talked to CNBC News about what's in store for the economy, including the construction industry, in 2010.  Simonson discussed the results of a National Association for Business Economics survey. Watch the video here.

For more information, contact Ken Simonson at simonsonk@agc.org.

For the first time since the start of the economic downturn, every state and the District of Columbia reported losing construction jobs over the past twelve months, according to AGC's analysis of state-by-state employment data released Friday. The analysis found few signs of a construction industry recovery with only six states reporting construction job increases between November and December 2009.

Read the press release here. The news was covered by the Memphis Business Journal, Idaho Business Review and Dayton Business Journal.

For more information, contact Brian Turmail at (703) 837-5310 or turmailb@agc.org.

Public agencies have been reporting for more than a year that they are paying less for school buildings and other facilities than they had been. But few governments seem to have stepped up their construction programs to take advantage of the price breaks.

Montgomery County, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C., is an exception. "Montgomery County's government would get a $4 billion jolt over the next six years under a capital spending plan detailed Friday by County Executive Isiah Leggett," the Washington Post reported on January 16. "The proposal represents a nearly 7 percent boost in spending…With interest rates low and construction companies hungry for work, Montgomery officials said, the county should take advantage of the community's general affluence to press ahead with its capital priorities, especially those affecting education….Constructing a new Paint Branch [High School, which began this month], for example, is expected to cost $20 million to $30 million less than what was spent on a similar school that was built recently, schools officials said. The county can build an elementary school with the difference, they said."

An AGC survey of nearly 700 contractors, released on January 20, confirmed that the decline in building costs reflects more than a dip in materials prices. About 81 percent of the respondents said they cut profit margins for their 2009 bids, and 11 percent were willing to take a loss. That's a great opportunity for both public and private owners who are willing to act promptly. But most contractors cannot afford to operate at a loss for long. By later this year, contractors will either be out of business or charging more.

The drop in materials costs may soon run its course, as well. The producer price index (PPI) for inputs to construction industries, a weighted average of materials used in all types of projects plus items such as diesel fuel that are consumed during construction, rose 0.2 percent in December before seasonal adjustment and 0.4 percent from a year earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. The December-to-December increase was the mildest since 1999, but December was also the first month since February that the construction PPI did not decline from year-ago levels.

Meanwhile, the PPI for new school building construction, which measures contractors' overhead and profit as well as materials costs, fell 2.4 percent from December 2008 to December 2009. That was the first 12-month drop since the index was introduced in 2006. In other words, contractors are still lowering their prices but are starting to pay more for the inputs they use - an unsustainable squeeze play.

Owners should take heed: the double delight of plentiful bidders and falling materials prices appears poised to end soon. If they want the most value for their construction dollar, now is the time to buy.

For more information, contact Ken Simonson at simonsonk@agc.org.