Commercial and industrial construction contractors entered 2018 with abundant confidence regarding sales and staffing levels for the next six months, according to the latest Construction Confidence Index released by ABC. All three components surveyed—sales, profit margins and staffing levels—remained well above 50 in the diffusion index, signaling ongoing progress.

On April 11, the U.S. Senate voted 50-48 to confirm John Ring to be a member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Mr. Ring's confirmation brings the NLRB back to five members: three Republicans and two Democrats. ABC sent a letter to the Senate in support of Mr. Ring, who served as a partner at Morgan Lewis. ABC will count Wednesday's vote as a key vote for the 115th congressional scorecard.  

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and SCORE Association will host a free, three-day Virtual Conference during SBA’s 2018 National Small Business Week, May 1-3.

ABC’s Construction Executive magazine was included in a list of the top 20 contractor magazines issued by GenieBelt, a construction project management software company. The magazine also won a Silver Azbee Award of Excellence for the Mid-Atlantic region from the American Society of Business Publication Editors last week.

On April 9, federal agency heads signed the “One Federal Decision Memorandum of Understanding,” which will further implement the administration's executive order to streamline the federal permitting process for major infrastructure projects. ABC expressed support for the executive order when it was announced in 2017. 

Prices for inputs to construction materials expanded 0.8 percent in March and are 5.8 percent higher than at the same time one year ago, according to an ABC analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Prices for nonresidential construction inputs increased 0.9 percent on a monthly basis and are up 5.6 percent year over year.

The U.S. construction industry lost 15,000 jobs on net in March, according to an ABC analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This represents a significant reversal from February, when the industry added a post-recession high of 65,000 net new jobs (upwardly revised from +61,000).

On April 3, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division launched the Payroll Audit Independent Determination program, a new nationwide pilot program to assist employers in expediting the resolution of inadvertent overtime and minimum wage violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The pilot program will be implemented for approximately six months nationwide.

On March 19, 2018, the U.S. Department of Commerce began accepting exclusion requests from U.S. industry for the recently announced tariffs on steel and aluminum product imports. According to the notice published in the Federal Register, “individuals or organizations using steel or aluminum articles identified in presidential proclamations 9704 and 9705 and engaged in business activities in the United States may submit exclusion requests.” 

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division released several videos that will assist employers with complying with the requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act.