Published Nationally Northeast Edition
® December 11 2019 Vol. LVI • No. 25
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded 1957.” 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com
Inside
CEG’s Top Holiday Gift Picks for 2019…10
ShoulderMaster Tur ns Heads in New Yor k…16
On Route 187, a Caterpillar 335 excavator receives concrete.
After Years of Flooding, Work Still Remains in Pa. By Brenda Ruggiero CEG CORRESPONDENT
Gyr u- Star Tur ns Ske ptic Into a Be liever…67
Table of Contents................ 4 Recycling Section........ 67-88
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Engineering District 3 continues to work to remedy the challenges created by above average precipitation in north
By Irwin Rapoport
Truck & Trailer Section........ .................................... 95-102
General contractors and subcontractors across the nation are witnessing increases in construction costs, be it for department of transportation contracts or commercial, industrial, institutional and residential projects. While some companies, due to their size and geographical range, have been aware of the trend from the beginning, others are dealing with it on a case-by-case basis and are seeking data to confirm their suspicions.
Auction Section...... 116-125 Business Calendar.......... 120 Advertisers Index............ 126
approximately $30 million for statewide emergency funding in a given fiscal year. “The repairs for most of the damaged areas are complete or are currently under repair,” said Kim Smith PennDOT community relations coordinator. “However, the long-term impacts see REPAIRS page 20
Contractors Discuss Rising Construction Costs
Attachment Section.... 89-94
Snow & Ice Section..103-106
central Pennsylvania. This has occurred since 2016 and has resulted in flooding in many areas. Recently, PennDOT reported that 411 flood damaged highways were repaired. This included both roadway and bridge projects at an approximate cost of $56 million in 2018. This is well above the normal PennDOT budget of
CEG CORRESPONDENT
“If you think construction is getting more expensive, you’re right,” Ken Simonson, chief economist of The Associated General Contractors of America, told Construction Equipment Guide. “The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) compiles a producer price index (PPI) that measures the change in what contractors say they would charge to put up a set of specific non-residential buildings. By asking the same contractors about the same set of hypothetical buildings each month, BLS is able to compare ‘apples to apples.’ “The PPI for new non-residential building
construction increased 5.6 percent from August 2018 to August 2019,” he added. “In contrast, the consumer price index (CPI) — the most commonly cited measure of inflation as experienced by consumers — increased only 1.7 percent over that period. Over the past three years, when construction costs began to accelerate, the ‘bid price’ index has risen 13 percent, while the CPI climbed just 7 percent.” According to Simonson, construction costs have been driven by an acute shortage of hourly craft workers and by tariffs on steel, see COSTS page 100