Home prices soared in January to an 11.2% annual gain, according to the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index. The January rate jumped from 10.4% in December and was the highest annual rate gain since 2006. The 20-city composite posted an 11.1% annual gain with all cities reporting higher prices, led […]
Automakers continue to take downtime at assembly plants across North America because of persistent and widespread supply chain snarls. The problems include not only the microchip shortage, which has been a drag on the industry since late last year, but also broader parts shortages stemming from port congestion and from the lingering effects of severe […]
President Joe Biden will be in Pittsburgh next week to unveil his administration’s multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure spending plan. The plan will focus on both physical and technological infrastructure, the president said in a press conference. Spending on infrastructure is about both creating jobs and making the United States a more attractive place to do business, Biden […]
New home sales slowed in February, falling 18.2% from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 775,000, according to estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. “After sales exceeded construction starts by a historic margin at the end of the summer, the pace of sales has now […]
Buyers continued to snap up existing homes in February causing a record low inventory of 1.03 million units, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. Sales for all types of existing housing fell 6.6% from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.22 million, but were 9.1% higher than a year ago. […]
North American auto assembly plants continue to see production hobbled by a global microchip shortage. The chip supply squeeze could become more intense because of a fire on Friday at Japanese microchip supplier Renesas Electronics. And the trouble doesn’t stop there. Parts requiring petrochemicals are in some instances in short supply because severe weather in […]
Ford is building some vehicles in North America without certain components because the global semiconductor shortage has collided with a broader parts shortage. The automaker said it would assemble its popular F-150 pickup truck and its Edge SUV without some electronic modules because they contain “scarce semiconductors” and because of “parts shortages created by the […]
Housing starts tumbled to a six-month low in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.421 million, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. Starts were 10.3% below January’s rate and down 9.3% from February 2020. Part of the decline was due to the unusual winter weather across […]
January heating and cooling equipment shipments totaled 1.86 million units, up 2.8% from December and up 18.9% from levels one year prior, according to recent data from the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). This is the eighth consecutive month that shipments have increased on a year-over-year basis. Recall that late-2020 saw record-high levels of […]
General Motors continues to crank out some full-size pickup trucks despite a microchip shortage. The Detroit-based automaker is doing so by shipping certain vehicles without chip-containing components necessary for reducing fuel consumption, a company spokesman confirmed. “Due to the global shortage of semiconductors impacting the global auto industry, we are making Active Fuel Management/Dynamic Fuel […]
Reducing carbon isn’t just something that steel wants to do to be a good corporate citizen, it’s increasingly something that key customers – such as automakers – are demanding. Case in point: German automaker BMW is investing in a CO2-free steel production process developed by Boston Metal, a U.S.-based start-up. Boston Metal has found a way […]
February heating and cooling equipment shipments declined 9.3% from January to 1.68 million units, but were up 10.4% from levels one year prior, according to recent data from the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). This is the ninth consecutive month that shipments have increased on a year-over-year basis. Recall that late 2020 saw record-high […]
Construction employment continues to lag pre-pandemic levels in most of the U.S., says a new analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America. Only eight states added construction jobs from February to January 2021 while 42 states remained below February 2020 levels. “Despite improvement in many sectors of the economy, nonresidential contractors are coping with […]
The semiconductor shortage that forced General Motors to extend assembly plant outages continues to impact production at other North American automakers as well. Case in point: Toyota’s Tundra pickup truck assembly plant in San Antonio, Texas, where it’s not clear how long the production disruption might last. The chip shortage been an issue for Toyota […]
The construction industry remains optimistic despite still facing many challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Out of 1,400 contractors responding to the Associated General Contractors of America’s Coronavirus Survey, 62% said they plan to add employees this year. A bullish perspective typical of the construction industry, said AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson. “No matter how bad […]
The PRO Act (Protecting the Right to Organize Act) will begin debate in the U.S. House this week. The legislation, voted down in previous years, would change long-established labor laws that not everyone believes will benefit employees and the industries in which they work. Among those critical of the legislation is the Associated General Contractors […]
Severe weather froze the construction industry in February, contributing to an employment loss of 61,000 workers, said the Associated General Contractors of America in an analysis of government data. The sector’s unemployment rate soared 9.6% last month. Total construction employment was 7,340,000, a 4.0% drop from the most recent peak in February 2020. “The steep decline […]
The Dodge Momentum Index jumped 7.1% in February to register 149.0 for the highest level in nearly three years. The index is a monthly measure of the first report of nonresidential projects in planning, shown to lead construction spending by a full year. A surge of large projects entered the planning phase last month, said […]
It took 20 years, but the nation’s infrastructure GPA is no longer in the D range. The 2021 Report Card issued by the American Society of Civil Engineers gives America’s infrastructure a C-, a passing grade that still leaves plenty of room for improvement. Rail transit was the brightest spot in this year’s report, receiving […]
General Motors has extended production shutdowns at three North American plants because of a continuing microchip shortage. In addition, the automaker said it would take downtime at its Gravatai plant in Brazil. “Our intent is to make up as much production lost at these plants as possible,” a GM spokesman said on Wednesday, March 3. […]
Nonresidential construction spending expanded for the first time in seven months, according to a new analysis of January federal construction data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Total construction spending was $1.52 trillion in January, up 1.7% from December and 5.8% from January 2020. Combined private and public nonresidential construction spending climbed 0.9% from […]
The semiconductor shortage that has forced North American automakers to temporarily halt production at some assembly plants has spilled into the home appliance industry as well. The situation is severe enough that the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM), a lobbying group, has warned about potential re-allocations of semiconductors from that sector to others. There […]
President Joe Biden has signed an executive order officially implementing a U.S. supply chain review for critical products such as semiconductors – a lack of which has led to widespread automotive production outages. “Recent shortages of automotive semiconductor chips have forced slowdowns at car manufacturing plants, highlighting how shortages can hurt U.S. workers,” the White House said […]
Sales of newly constructed single-family homes leapt 4.3% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 923,000, said the U.S. Census Bureau and HUD. Sales compared to a year ago soared 19.3%. “Historically low mortgage rates and solid demand spurred an increase in new home sales in January, with the sales pace more than 19% […]
Home prices continued to accelerate through December, culminating in the highest annual gain in seven years. The National Composite Index for the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices rose 10.4% in December compared to a year ago. “As COVID-related restrictions began to grip the economy in early 2020, their effect on housing prices was unclear,” said Craig […]
Auto assemblies in North America took a step back in January after seeing a strong end to 2020. Although the U.S. market continues to rebound from the effects of the pandemic, domestic light vehicle sales fell by 3.1% in January compared to year-ago levels, according to LMC Automotive (LMCA). Canada’s light vehicle sales were down […]
Finding that perfect house just became harder. The National Association of Realtors reports that inventory of existing homes at the end of January fell to a record low of 1.04 million units, a whopping 25.7% decline year-over-year. At the current sales rate, supply is at an all-time low of 1.9 months. Sales for the month […]
Soaring prices and delivery delays for steel, lumber and other materials are squeezing the finances of construction firms already burdened by the pandemic, said the Associated General Contractors of America. The trade group called on the Biden administration to review and rescind a range of trade tariffs, which it claims are contributing to unmanageable price […]
Severe winter weather across North America has forced automakers to reduce shifts or temporarily halt production from Michigan to Mexico. But the impact–not only of the weather but also of natural gas shortages and power outages–appears to be more fleeting than the problems posed by a microchip shortage, which has caused some plants to shut […]
Housing starts slowed in January as contractors struggle to build affordable homes amidst rising construction costs. Housing starts slid 6.0% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.58 million, according to the latest report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. “The weakness in housing starts […]