On January 8, Â鶹ÊÓƵ hosted a media conference call with approximately 60 reporters to announce its first-ever construction employment and business forecast.  President-elect Doug Pruitt (Sundt Construction, Tucson, Ariz.), CEO Steve Sandherr, Chief Economist Ken Simonson and members Brian Burgett (Kokosing Construction, Fredericktown, Ohio), Tracy Hart (Tarlton Corporation, St. Louis, Mo.), Steve Kimball (Kimball Construction Co, Baltimore, Md.) and Don Weaver (Weaver Bailey Construction Company, El Paso, Ark.) outlined how under current market conditions almost two-thirds of commercial construction companies are planning to lay off workers this year.   Several media outlets covered the event and survey data, including Fox Business News, Associated Press, Reuters and Wall Street Journal. For a sampling of media coverage of the event, click here.
Two charges against providing economic stimulus through infrastructure spending are that it leads to little employment, and that the money flows too slowly to help during a downturn. Recent estimates from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers show the job potential is large. The circumstances of the current recession suggest the jobs would be added quickly.
Voters on Election Day approved a huge schedule of state and local bond and tax issues in support of infrastructure spending for schools, colleges, other public buildings and highways. The Bond Buyer estimated that successful bond issues alone totaled $54 billion, the second-highest total after 2006 and about 82 percent of issues on the ballot.
The freezing of credit markets, combined with sharply reduced expectations for the economy, are drastically lowering the number of construction starts. At the same time, the slowing world economy, along with a rebound in the value of the dollar against some currencies, has driven down many materials prices.
The upheaval on Wall Street is delaying or stopping projects all over the country, even ones already under way.