Tag Archives: real-estate

The Blame Game: Construction Employment Dips in April

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Construction employment dips in April 2013Great news on job creation last week was offset somewhat by surprising employment losses in construction. While the national economy added 165,000 jobs, construction was actually down 6,000 jobs in April. That’s the first time since October 2012 that construction saw a decline in new jobs.

Governmental Blame

Dow Jones reports that blame for April’s construction industry stumble should be left on the government’s doorstep. With various budgetary cuts at the Federal level attributed to the Sequester, funding reductions are now making their way to the state level, and adversely affecting local infrastructure projects.

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Seattle’s Taproot Theatre is Reborn through Modular

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Seattle’s Taproot Theatre is Reborn through Modular ConstructionIn 2009, arson tore through a section of Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood, destroying several businesses, and leaving an empty lot in its wake. As reported by the Seattle Times, the Taproot Theatre, a pillar of the city’s thriving arts community, was lost in the fire. Now the Taproot is reborn, bigger, better and modular.

The New Taproot Goes Modular 

From its Space Needle to the Seattle Central Library, the Emerald City has had a long history of progressive attitudes toward architecture. It’s not surprising that modular construction was the choice for the new Taproot. With 21 modules being readied, the finished project will include primary and Continue reading →

March Caps 10 Months of Construction Employment Gains. What’s next?

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Construction employment improves and modular is thereConstruction added 18,000 jobs last month, driving industry unemployment down to 14.7 percent according to the recently released Jobs Report. It was the 10th consecutive month of increases in construction jobs, and a three-year national high.

Analysts for the Associated General Contractors of America maintain a tempered optimism however, as strong growth in the residential and non-residential sectors is contrasted by flat or falling trends in public works construction. Officials noted that, for policy makers to benefit, they must focus on improving infrastructure for the entire construction industry.

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News Report: ModSpace Refurb Center Makes Aging Mobile Offices Like New

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News Report: ModSpace Refurb Center Makes Aging Mobile Offices Like New

Photo: Dan Marschka, LancasterOnline.com

Since opening late last year, the ModSpace refurb center in Elizabethtown, PA has been taking in our oldest mobile office trailers and turning out high-quality workspace. The E-town facility was recently featured in an article on LancasterOnline.com.

We completely refurbish them. When they go out the door, they look like a new, Plant Manager Randy Weaver told reporter Chad Umble.

Read the full story, and see images and video from the plant at LancasterOnline.com.

Modular Construction Reaches New Heights, Goes Global

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AtlanticYardstower2

Atlantic Yards Project, Brooklyn, NY

Though the domestic modular construction industry has been growing over the past several decades, it is only recently that US designers and builders have started taking sky-scraping cues from overseas projects. New York City’s Atlantic Yards development is a prime example, as it is targeted to be the tallest modular structure in the world, surpassing England’s University of Wolverhampton’s 25-story dormitory, completed in 2009.

These two projects notwithstanding, modular construction that reaches for the sky isn’t relegated to the US and UK. The Asian market went tall the in Hunan Province with high-rise modular projects courtesy of developer Zhang Yue, whose company erected a 30-story modular building over 15 days in 2011, a feat that was captured in a powerful time-lapse video.

Even now the Broad Group in China has signed a deal to erect a 100-story prefab building in the city of Continue reading →

Decoding Mixed Messages in Construction Industry Reporting

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Decoding Mixed Messages in Construction Industry ReportingYou don’t have to look far to find contradicting reports on the current and future state of construction. On their own, the numbers usually speak for themselves. Putting them together for a clear view of the industry and where it’s headed is the challenge.

Statistical Confusion

This month, Reuters reported that construction spending in January was unexpectedly weak. A week later, the news agency reported that new Labor Department numbers showed a February increase in construction sector hiring, with approximately 48,000 employees added to national payrolls — nearly Continue reading →

Construction Adds 48,000 Jobs in February, Leads Nation in Growth

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Construction Jobs236,000 jobs were added in the U.S last month driving the jobless rate to 7.7 percent, the lowest since December 2008, according to a Friday March 8 report from the Labor Department.

Construction led the way with 48,000 new jobs, the single largest gain since March 2007, as reported by Reuters. The report is a good indicator that low January numbers could be indicative of Fiscal Cliff and Sequester fears. As industry experts continue to gauge the impact of changing federal policies and the soaring stock market, it seems, at least for now, that construction is on track for a positive 2013.