Building lndusrry Reqching Record Peqk in 1955

San Francisco.-Already accounting for more than oneseventh of the gross, national product, America's building industry this year again reached a new record peak and will see a 6/o increase next year, M. J. Heller, Sacramento contractor and president of the Central California chapter, the Associated General Contractors, predicted here Oct. 5.

He cited several large-scale building plans presented at the Associated General Contractors' mid-year board meeting held at Minneapolis as evidence of the stimulating effect of building construction upon the country's booming economy:

1. A joint U. S. Commerce and Labor Department survey of state and local public works needs alone totals $20O billion dollars for the next ten years.

2. American industry must spend $375 billion by 1%5 for plant expansion and remodeling to keep abreast of the economy's demands, according to a previous statement by the president of the New York Stock Exchange.

3. To eliminate city blight, the nation's leading building contractors see a conservative program of at least a billion dollars a year spent for the next 10 years on urban renewal.

Peak month for 1955 construction, according to Heller, was August, when volume of new construction shot up I3/o ahead of August a year ago. Best estimates now available to AGC say 1955 total volume will be $42 billion, approximately $5 billion ahead of 1954. This is for new construction; repair and maintenance building will boost the final total to $58 billion for 1955. And still not counted is public works construction; the $58 billion figure is only for private construction.

Turning to California, which leads all other states in dollar volume for construction in all activities, Fleller said last year's volume for Northern California was $375 million, of which almost $200 million is attributed to members of the Central California Chapter, A. G. C. The Central Chapter contractors do not bid on highway or other heavy construction but, instead, ofifice buildings, warehouses, churches, schools, hospital and medical centers, industrial plants, public buildings, shopping centers, and similar projects.

Building Offers Opportunity for Young Men

Young men about to start out on a career should take a long and favorable look at California's booming building industry, Paul A. Elsner, vice-president of the Central California chapter, AGC, said. According to Elsner, the state's building trades employment figures of August 1955 rose D,M (better than the city of Palo Alto in population) over August a year ago, a rise of more than ll/o.7t is expected demand for skilled craftsmen will sharpen with building reaching new record peaks in dollar volume.

Apprenticeship programs forall crafts are underway throughout the state under joint sponsorship of the Associated General Contractors and building trades union representatives to attract young mcn r,r'ho desire to become skilled craftsmen.

Briefly, training consists of on-the-job l.ork and related educational training in the classroom at night. Apprentices serve a period of three or four years, starting at a wage of at least 60/o of the journeymen's wage, and gradually increasing until they receive the full journeyman's rate at the successful conclusion of their apprenticeship training program. lf

'jWe in the building industry," Elsner declared, "are conscious every day that our success is measured in a great part by the efforts of the many skilled craftsmen who get our jobs done-and done well. These skilled journeymen enjoy in California about the highest wages in the nation today. So I say to able young men-'Join the Joint AGCBuilding Trades Unions Apprenticeship Program-we need all the help we can get to make this a better Calfiornia'."

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13,(XXt Housing Stsrtsin Seprember

Nonfarm housing starts dropped more than seasonally in September to i13,000 units, the U. S. Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics announced. The September figure, however, was within 2,7N units of the September 1954 level, and brought housing starts for the first nine months of this year to l,O47,A0}-only 66,000 less than the January-September record totalof 1,113,000 reached in 1950, and 131,200 ahead of the same nine months of 1954. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of private housing starts averaged 1,330,000 for the first nine months of 1955, compared with total private starts of \,?fL,7N in 1954. The 8/o decrease between August and September was general throughout the country.

Groven Named USP Solesmqnoger in L.A.

Don Braley, Los Angeles branch manager of United States Plywood Corp., announces that Jack Craven, former Portland, Ore., branch manager, has been appointed L. A. district salesmanager succeeding Boris Kutner, who resigned late in October to become salesmanager, tile division, for Gladding McBean.

Craven has been with USP eight years in sales capacities and in Southern California the past few months on special contact work. Kutner haS been with the huge plywood firm since the end of WWIL He is also the present Snark of L. A. Hoo-Hoo Club 2.

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