Overall construction input prices declined 0.1 percent in December, yet despite the lack of inflation for the month, prices are up 5 percent on a year-over-year basis, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of  Bureau of Labor Statistics data released today.  Nonresidential construction materials prices also declined 0.1 percent for the month and are up 4.8 percent from the same time one year ago. 

ABC launched its ‘Building America’ Campaign in June 2017. In the lead-up to Legislative Week, ABC worked with Washington, D.C.-based news radio powerhouse WTOP to help tell the organization's story to Congress, the administration and federal agencies.

On Jan. 8, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Neilsen announced the termination of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for El Salvador. The designation, which was granted after two destructive earthquakes in 2001, will terminate in 18 months on Sept. 9, 2019. Last year, the Trump administration announced it is terminating TPS designations for Haitians on July 22, 2019, and for Nicaraguans on Jan. 5, 2019.

During live appearances on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Jan. 8 and Fox Business Network’s “Varney & Co.” Jan. 5, ABC President and CEO Mike Bellaman told viewers that while the construction industry is booming, the challenge going forward is finding skilled labor, especially if Congress passes a wide-ranging, trillion dollar bill meant to address the country’s aging infrastructure.

On Jan. 5, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register on the expansion of Association Health Plans (AHPs). According to a DOL press release, the proposed rule would increase access for small businesses to offer employment-based health insurance through AHPs and give access to 11 million small business employees/sole proprietors and their families who do not have employer-sponsored insurance. 

Effective Jan. 2, the U.S. Department of Labor increased civil monetary penalties for violations of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards and regulations. According to the OSHA website, the maximum penalty for other-than-serious, serious and failure to abate violations is now $12,934, and the maximum penalty for willful or repeat violations is $129,336.

George R. Nash Jr., director of preconstruction for Branch & Associates in Herndon, Va., began his one-year term as chair of ABC on Jan. 1, 2018. He leads the 21,000-plus member association’s executive committee and board of directors, guides its national initiatives and serves as its spokesperson.

The nonresidential construction sector added 11,800 net new jobs in December, representing nearly 10 percent of the nation’s jobs created during the month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The nation’s overall construction sector added 30,000 net new jobs in December, a 0.4 percent month-over-month increase.

F.L. Crane & Sons Inc. of Fulton, Miss., a member of ABC’s Mississippi Chapter, has been awarded Accredited Quality Contractor (AQC) status by ABC. The AQC program recognizes and honors construction firms that document their commitment to excellence in five key areas of corporate responsibility: quality, safety, employee benefits, training and community relations.

Nonresidential construction spending expanded 0.6 percent in November, totaling $719.2 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Despite the month-over-month expansion, nonresidential spending fell 1.3 percent from November 2016.