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April 29, 2015 • Vol. XXVII • No. 9 • 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215-885-2910
Inside
IHS, PEG Report Industry Prices Continue to Fall
struction issues. With an initial budget of $65 million, the city-financed stadium has now exceeded $75 million in costs, which include $47 million in construction costs alone, plus $23 million in land acquisitions and $5 million in capitalized cost, as well as $5 million for street and sidewalk paving and new water and electrical lines. The tally doesn’t include $5 million in infrastructure work the city has performed in order to accommodate the new stadium. The 15 percent increase stems from unexpected but necessary environmental reme-
Construction costs fell again in March, according to IHS and the Procurement Executives Group (PEG). The headline current IHS PEG Engineering and Construction Cost Index (ECCI) registered 44.7 in March, a slight uptick from February’s record low, but still considerably below a neutral reading. The headline index has not indicated rising costs since December 2014. “The rout in crude oil markets is clearly having a chilling effect on capital expenditure plans,” said Mark Eisinger, senior economist at IHS. “That said, survey respondents remain optimistic that projects are simply being delayed and not canceled.” The current materials/equipment index registered 43.0 in March, a slight improvement from February’s 39.6 reading, but still consistent with the overall narrative of softer prices. Nine of 12 individual components registered falling prices in March, led by copper-based wire and cable, carbon steel pipe, alloy steel pipe and fabricated structural steel. Copper-based wire and cable has now shown falling prices for five of the past six months. “Non-ferrous metals markets continue to be weighed down by the specter of slowing consumption growth in key emerging markets and dampened investor interest due to the pending normalization of U.S. monetary policy,” said Frank Hoffman, senior economist at IHS. Ready-mix concrete was the outlier in the March survey as the only underlying component showing higher month on month prices.
see BALLPARK page 44
see IHS page 89
Yancey Bros. Co. Hosts Open House…8
Jacki Robert photo
A larger, more modern version of Greer Stadium’s popular guitar-shaped scoreboard was built beyond the right-center field wall.
Armstrong Contractors ‘Goes Green’…12
Nashville Ballpark Opens Despite Challenges By Lori Lovely CEG CORRESPONDENT
Technology Assists Construction of Landfill…22
Table of Contents ..............4 Truck & Trailer Section ........ ....................................36-38 Recycling Section ......49-59 Attachments Section ............ .................................... 61-65 Business Calendar ............84 Auction Section ..........82-89 Advertisers Index ............90
First Tennessee Park, Nashville’s new ballpark for the Nashville Sounds Triple-A Minor League baseball team, has cost $10 million more than planned due to unexpected con-
Construction Firms Add Jobs Over Past Year Even as construction firms added jobs in 41 states between March 2014 and March 2015, construction employment declined in 29 states and the District of Columbia between February and March, according to an analysis of Labor Department data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials cautioned that ongoing D.C. gridlock over how to pay for needed infrastructure
improvements and declining demand for oilrelated projects likely contributed to so many states shedding construction jobs in March. "While the year-over-year data remains relatively positive, it is troubling to see so many states losing construction jobs during the past month," said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. "As energy firms cancel or delay projects and Congressional action on
transportation and other infrastructure measures remains stalled, many construction firms appear to be reducing headcount, at least temporarily." California added more new construction jobs (46,300 jobs, 6.9 percent) between March 2014 and March 2015 than any other state. Other states adding a high number of new consee EMPLOYMENT page 86