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“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded 1957.” www.constructionequipmentguide.com Published 470 Maryland DriveApril • Ft. ashington, 19034 215/885-2900 • To ll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215/885-2910 • www.ConstructionEquipmentGuide.com 23,W2014 • Vol. LIVPA • No. 9 • 470• Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215-885-2910 Nationally
Inside
A crew under Feasterville, Pa.-based general contractor Neshaminy Constructors Inc. is using a Cat 325 excavator to move materials such as concrete, wood, galvanized steel and crushed stone into place.
Pine Bush Equipment Opens Another NAPA Store…8
Plasterer Equipment Hosts Event in Bethlehem, Pa. …12
New Pier Park on Delaware River Has Historic Ties to Philly By Lori Lovely CEG CORRESPONDENT
Construction of IWAY Underway in R.I. …28
Table of Contents ................4
The Washington Avenue waterfront, site of the country’s first Navy Yard and Philadelphia’s first immigration station (used from the 1870s through WWI), is undergoing renovation in order to create a pier park for public use. Pier 53, along the central Delaware River, is the next green space the Delaware River Waterfront
Corporation (DRWC) is developing. The project will complement and enhance the surrounding Washington Avenue Green park. When completed, the pier park will feature public access to the end of the pier, where visitors can enjoy panoramic views of the river, and innovative ecological improvements that will benefit the environment, while remaining sensitive to the historical context. see PIER page 44
No Margin for Error...
Road Work Study Spells Safety Issues Forty-five percent of highway contractors had motor vehicles crash into their construction work zones during the past year, according to the results of a new highway work zone study conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials added that the study found work zone crashes are more likely to kill vehicle operators and passengers than construction workers. “There is little margin for error when you work within a few inches of thousands of fast-moving vehicles,” said Tom Case, the chair of the association’s national highway and transportation division and senior vice president of Watsonville, Calif.-based Granite Construction. “As the data makes clear, not enough drivers are slowing down and staying alert near work sites.” Case said that 43 percent of contractors reported that motor vehicle operators or passengers were injured during work see STUDY page 118
Truck & Trailer Section ........ ......................................61-65
Jobs in March Hit Highest Level Since June 2009
Recycling Section ........69-93
Construction employers added 19,000 workers to payrolls in March, bringing industry employment to the highest level since June 2009, while the industry’s unemployment rate dropped to the lowest March level in seven years, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials warned that the pool of available workers is declining rapidly, raising the prospects for significant labor shortages if demand continues to expand.
Attachment & Parts Section ..................................103-109 Auction Section ......114-129 Business Calendar ..........122 Advertisers Index ............130
“The rate of construction hiring continues to outrun job growth in the overall economy for the past year,” said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. “Furthermore, the pickup has been well balanced, as both nonresidential and residential construction segments added workers last month and over the past 12 months.” Construction employment totaled 5.9 million in March, a gain of 151,000 or 2.6 percent from a year earlier, compared with a rise in total nonfarm employment of 1.7 percent over that peri-
od, Simonson noted. Residential building and specialty trade contractors added a combined total of 9,100 workers in March and 103,000 (4.8 percent) over 12 months. Nonresidential construction — building, specialty trades and heavy and civil engineering contractors — grew by 9,900 employees last month and 48,800 (1.3 percent) since March 2013. “Although most construction employers who need workers have been able to find them so far, see JOBS page 118