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After soaring in 2007 and again in 2008, farm income has plunged in 2009 with little improvement expected in the next few years. A 30% drop in 2009 farm income is projected by the US Agriculture Department. Except for recession in 2002, this will drop the constant dollar value of farm income back to the level of the early 1980s when the farm crisis was headline news. The relatively strong economies and construction markets in the plains states in the last few years were due largely to soaring farm income. But these states are at a high risk of lagging...

China State Construction Engineering Corp, the largest contractor in China, has bagged a subway ventilation project worth about $100 million in New York's Manhattan area, marking the construction giant's third order in the United States'infrastructure space this year. The contract was given to China Construction American Co, a subsidiary, the Wall Street Journal quoted a source as saying. "The new project, along with the $410-million Hamilton Bridge project and a $1.7-billion entertainmet project it won earlier this year signals China State Construction's ambition to tap the American construction market," said Li Zhirui, an industry analyst at First Capital Securities.

China State Construction Engineering Corp, the largest contractor in China, has bagged a subway ventilation project worth about $100 million in New York’s Manhattan area, marking the construction giant’s third order in the United States’ infrastructure space this year. The contract was given to China Construction American Co, a subsidiary, the Wall Street Journal quoted a source as saying. “The new project, along with the $410-million Hamilton Bridge project and a $1.7-billion entertainment project it won earlier this year, signals China State Construction’s ambition to tap the American construction market,” said Li Zhirui, an industry analyst at First Capital Securities....

The State Department’s internal watchdog called yesterday for officials to demand a rebate of more than $132 million from a company that built the massive US Embassy in Baghdad to make up for shoddy work. In a report, the department’s inspector general said First Kuwaiti Trading & Contracting Co. should be required to pay back roughly a quarter of the $470 million it was awarded to build the sprawling embassy. More than $730 million was spent on the embassy - the largest US diplomatic mission in the world. The report also took issue with the State Department’s oversight of work...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.—James and Maria Ivory's dreams of a relaxing retirement on Florida's Gulf Coast were put on hold when they discovered their new home had been built with Chinese drywall that emits sulfuric fumes and corrodes pipes. It got worse when they asked their insurer for help—and not only was their claim denied, but they've been told their entire policy won't be renewed. Thousands of homeowners nationwide who bought new houses constructed from the defective building materials are finding their hopes dashed, their lives in limbo. And experts warn that cases like the Ivorys', in which insurers drop...

Over the past 25 years, Larry Valdez has worked as an electrician in Grand Junction, Colo.; Duluth, Minn.; Salem, Ore.; and more than a dozen other places. A skilled tradesman with a union card, he could always hop from one job to the next, building a mall, a power plant or a microchip factory. Five years ago, he landed in Las Vegas as developers were breaking ground on a series of lavish hotels and casinos on the Strip. Thousands of carpenters, ironworkers, electricians, pipefitters and other tradesmen were lured here by the concrete and steel rising from the desert --...

Construction employment saw significant declines in all but two states this August compared to last year according to an analysis of new state-by-state employment figures released today by the federal government. The analysis, conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America, however did show that the number of states gaining construction jobs increased slightly in August compared to July 2009.

EVEN as the economy may be starting to recover, banks across the country are confronting a worsening outlook for their construction loans, an area that boomed for much of the decade. Reports filed by banks with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation indicate that at the end of June about one-sixth of all construction loans were in trouble. With more than half a trillion dollars in such loans outstanding, that represents a source of major losses for banks. Construction loans were highly attractive in recent years for many banks, particularly smaller ones without a national presence. One reason was that other...

The Federal Building in downtown Youngstown, Ohio, features an extensive use of natural light to illuminate offices and a white roof to reflect heat. It has LEED certification, the country’s most recognized seal of approval for green buildings. But the building is hardly a model of energy efficiency. According to an environmental assessment last year, it did not score high enough to qualify for the Energy Star label granted by the Environmental Protection Agency, which ranks buildings after looking at a year’s worth of utility bills. The building’s cooling system, a major gas guzzler, was one culprit. Another was its...

For years, business boomed at Gilberto Preciado’s home-furnishings store in a working-class neighborhood near downtown Phoenix. But on a recent afternoon his showroom was deserted. Other businesses in his strip mall have been shutting down at a brisk clip. With a big grocery store nearby gone already, the parking lot was an empty field of asphalt baking in the sun. “You stand out there a couple of hours and you hear crickets,” Mr. Preciado said.

ARLINGTON, VA – Few states were immune from construction employment declines this July based on an analysis of federal employment data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. That analysis found that 47 states saw declines in construction employment, while only two states saw increases and one saw no change in construction employment between July 2008 and July 2009. “There aren’t a lot of places construction workers can turn to avoid the steep layoffs sweeping the construction industry right now,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer. “Sadly, construction workers are feeling the full impact of...

Cash for Clunkers is robbing the construction industry It looks like the "Cash for Clunkers" bill has been a huge success. A bill that was intended to stay in effect for many months, burned through a $1 billion budget within weeks. It looks like they hit the jackpot - at least until their money ran out. So with a program this is fantastically successful for whatever it is trying to achieve, the logical choice would be to add more money to the bucket and "ride 'er till she bucks ya". But where do we get this money you ask? It...

Interesting piece from Deutsche Bank on rapidly deteriorating Construction loans. DB predicts that “construction loans will be the epicenter of bank loan problems” • By far the riskiest type of loan product in bank portfolios; • Substantial portion represents loans to homebuilders; • Market currently penalizing properties with vacancy issues extremely severely; • Newly constructed (or only partially constructed) properties are the poster children for vacancy problems in CRE; • Values of most newly constructed properties are down massively; • Expect extremely high default rates and extremely high loss severity rates, both likely to be in excess of 50%; •...

Hundreds of police swooped on suspected terrorists in Melbourne early today amid fears suicide attacks were about to be launched on army bases in Australia. Police from around the country were quietly moved to Melbourne before launching their raids on homes in at least seven suburbs. Several men of Somali and Lebanese backgrounds were arrested and were expected to appear in court later on terrorism-related charges. Plot uncovered: A hooded terror suspect is driven to Melbourne police headquarters this morning Police sources said it would be claimed the men were planning to attack a barracks in western Sydney and other...

AL ASAD AIR BASE — The governor of Anbar province, Qasim al-Fahadawi, and the chairman of the Anbar Provincial Council, Dr. Jassim al-Halbusi, traveled here to meet with leaders of Multi National Force – West, July 16. In a conference room where photographs of the peaceful 2009 Anbar provincial elections hang, MNF-W leaders spoke of a topic that has long been one of the main focuses of the Marines’ mission in Iraq: reconstruction and development. Col. Robert Lanham, the MNF-W assistant chief of staff for civil-military operations, explained that the purpose of the meeting was to provide a summary of...

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley confirmed Monday that a new housing development in east Jerusalem had been a topic of conversation last week during a meeting between senior US diplomats and Israel's ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren. Crowley said US opposition to construction in east Jerusalem and settlements in the West Bank had not changed. "We have made our views known to Israel," he told reporters. "Our views are not new either: that this kind of construction is the type ... of issue that should be subject to permanent-status negotiations."

Lennar Corp. has identified 400 homes in Florida that have confirmed problems with defective Chinese drywall, and it has set aside $39.8 million to repair the homes, the Miami-based home builder said in a securities filing Friday. The figures are as of May 31, Lennar said. Complaints about odors and corrosion linked to defective drywall have been increasing for months. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a letter to four U.S. Senators last week that it has received more than 600 complaints related to the drywall issue from 21 states and the District of Columbia. Most of the...

Robert and Kay Lynn lay in bed shortly after closing on their new home in the Blue Oaks subdivision in Rancho Murieta, Calif., abutting an 18-hole golf course. They were listening to the “pop, pop, pop” of what they thought were acorns falling onto the roof. The Lynns soon realized those were not acorns dropping on the roof. “Little did we know it was the house cracking,” says Mrs. Lynn, 67 years old. Mr. Lynn, 68, says they bought the property in 2002 for $357,000 as a weekend home and an investment. The stucco house was moving and shifting, with...

The 1,400-page cap-and-trade legislation pushed through by House Democrats contains a new federal policy that residential, commercial, and government buildings be retrofitted to increase energy efficiency, leaving it up to the states to figure out exactly how to do that. This means that homeowners, for example, could be required to retrofit their homes to meet federal “green” guidelines in order to sell their homes, if the cap-and-trade bill becomes law. The bill, which now goes to the Senate, directs the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop and implement a national policy for residential and commercial buildings. The...

This past Saturday, an entire apartment building in Shanghai collapsed. To be fair, the building was under construction and thus unoccupied, but it's still a minor miracle that there was only one fatality. Sounds like there was a problem with some nearby flood prevention walls at the Dianpu River, but there's no hard evidence as to why this huge building simply fell over. Anyway, here are some sweet pictures of the architectural carnage. [Cellar.org via Twitter] Read More: Architecture, Building falls over, Shanghai, Apartment, China, Dianpu river, fail, buildings, collapse

THE mountain is to move for Muhammad. Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid are involved in plans to transform the landscape around Mecca, Islam’s holiest city, to make way for a high-rise metropolis complete with high-speed rail link for pilgrims. Architectural designs being considered by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia could see the mosque at the heart of the city expanded fivefold to hold 5m worshippers in one go. However, much of the land around the historic site, including ancient mountains, is likely to be flattened to accommodate seven-star hotels and towering blocks of luxury flats. Critics believe the 20-year redevelopment...

KABUL, May 6, 2009 – Expansion efforts are well under way in southern Afghanistan, where most of the 21,000 troops deploying to the country this summer will be concentrated. Marines from the 371st Wing Support Command, Forward Operating Base Leatherneck, Afghanistan, lay matting to construct a helicopter landing pad, May 1, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Master Sgt. Kanessa R. Trent   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Leaders at every level are working around the clock to ensure basic infrastructure is in place to continue receiving troops in Kandahar before sending them out to the forward operating bases,...

Gov. David A. Paterson has issued an order making it easier for labor unions to organize thousands of workers at some of New York’s largest new hotel and convention center projects, including hotels in Niagara Falls and at the Belmont Park racetrack in Nassau County and the expansion of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan. The directive, which was signed on April 24 and issued on Friday, will require the operators of projects that receive assistance like loans, tax breaks or property leases from state agencies or public authorities to obtain “labor peace” agreements with unions seeking to...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HUNTER — Outfitted with 1,000 sandbags, 4-by-4 pieces of lumber and a one-inch piece of plywood, a group of motivated Soldiers repaired a section of a main road here recently. The 41st Iraqi Army Brigade and members of 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, 'Black Dragons' refurbished the road, referred to as Route Phoenix. Route Phoenix is a gateway for units to travel safely. It also has a drain pipe to irrigate crops in the area from a nearby river. Soldiers have been establishing security check points around the area due to the increased road traffic...

In his Earth Day speech on Wednesday, Barack Obama claimed that Porkulus and its tax breaks for weatherization and residential energy efficiency had set off a “rush” to hire construction workers to make homes more energy efficient. Yesterday, his Labor Department begged to differ. They adjusted the numbers announced earlier this month on jobless claims upward, past analysts’ expectations, and the analysts predicted that unemployment would rise for the next 12 months into double digits: ----------------------------------------------------- Worse-than-expected news on unemployment and home sales Thursday dampened optimism that a broad economic recovery might be near. Many analysts don’t expect the housing...

The first quarter of 2009 saw the decline in the price of metals ease off from the dramatic falls seen in the last three months of 2008, according to BDO Stoy Hayward's Construction Commodities Index on Monday. The price construction firms paid for aluminium, copper, lead, tin and zinc in Q1 all fell at a much lower rate than the price paid in Q4 2008, the public accounting firm said in its report, adding that the only exception was steel, which declined at 1.5 times the rate it did last year. Richard Kelly, head of construction, at BDO Stoy Hayward...

Officials in Florida will soon begin air quality tests in homes to determine whether fumes emitted from Chinese-made drywall can make people sick, the state Health Department said Friday. Agency spokesman Doc Kokol said the tests, which he hopes will begin in several weeks, are complex and have never been done before. "This is new science, nobody has tested drywall like this," he said. An Associated Press review of shipping records found more than 540 million pounds of plasterboard was imported from China between 2004 and 2008 to meet U.S. demand during the national housing boom. Hundreds of people nationwide...

WASHINGTON, April 17, 2009 – A recent agreement among the Defense Department, the Navy and shipbuilders will enable more efficient construction of the next-generation destroyer at one shipyard instead of two, a senior Defense Department official announced here today. The “swap” agreement calls for three DDG-1000 destroyers to be built at the Bath Iron Works in Maine, John J. Young Jr., undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, told reporters at the Pentagon. Work on the DDG-1000 destroyers previously was to be split between General Dynamics’ Bath Works and Northrop Grumman’s Ingalls Shipyard in Mississippi, Young said. As part...

Your next home could be growing in a farm field this summer. Energy-efficient straw bale houses, once considered a fad, are going mainstream, thanks in no small part to skyrocketing heating costs. Those that own them swear by them, contractors can't keep up with the demand, and even municipal building permit approvers, cautious by nature, have gotten with the program. Best of all, straw is a readily renewable resource. Straw is the dry stalks of harvested wheat, barley and other cereal plants. Tightly baled and used for exterior walls, straw is a strong, nontoxic building material with great durability: Straw...

A Florida utility and a real estate developer are aiming to bring the country's first solar-powered city to the Sunshine State. FPL Group Inc's utility Florida Power & Light is working with the realty group Kitson & Partners to construct what the utility says will be the world's largest photovoltaic solar plant in a planned, environmentally friendly city near Fort Myers in southwestern Florida. Called Babcock Ranch, the city will aim to build 19,500 houses and about 6 million square feet of retail, light industrial, and office space when it is completed, the developers said. The entire project is expected...

COB SPEICHER — As a sign of increasing Iraqi participation in infrastructure and facility construction projects, the U.S. Air Force Facility Engineer Team (FET) recently led the way for an Iraqi FET to take over base engineering design and construction management here. “We are transitioning the efforts here to provide a more active role for Iraqis in infrastructure projects,” said Lt. Col. Jennifer Kilbourn, commander, FET-1, Joint Base Balad (JBB). “This initiative gives engineers more experience, and allows them to train their own laborers, so when Coalition forces leave the country, they will be able to tackle their own problems.”...

BAGHDAD — Yarmouk Hospital has undergone many upgrades over the last few years, to include a burn center renovation and new emergency center. “The good thing about all this new construction is, it is being done without U.S. tax dollars,” said Capt. Kenneth Johnson, a brigade surgeon with 1st Infantry Division. “Stimulated by the Coalition Force (CF), the Ministry of Health (MoH) has organized, made a budget and developed a strategy to make these changes in its facilities,” he added. Because the conditions here are improving and the MoH is beginning to take on more of a financial burden, the...

If the huge parking garage being built behind the Rivers Casino on the North Shore seemed a bit out of kilter recently, your eyes didn't deceive you. Parts of the nine-level garage were found to be leaning by nearly a foot, prompting intervention by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and a plan of action by contractors to straighten things out. Despite the problems, OSHA found the garage to be "safe and structurally sound," Acting Area Director Frank Librich said yesterday. "At no time during erection were employees in danger of a building collapse." The agency became involved after...

Housing construction posted a surprisingly large increase in February, bolstered by strength in all parts of the country except the West. The Commerce Department reported today that construction of new homes and apartments jumped 22.2 percent in February compared with January, pushing total activity to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 583,000 units. Meanwhile, the Labor Department reported that wholesale prices edged up a slight 0.1 percent in February as a big drop in food costs offset a second monthly increase in energy prices. While the surge in housing construction was far better than the continued decline economists had expected,...

JERUSALEM – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today promised to the Palestinian Authority the U.S. will act to halt Jewish construction in eastern Jerusalem, a senior PA negotiator told WND. "It was the only issue where she said the U.S. will act," said the PA negotiator, who met with Clinton today in Ramallah along with other Palestinian officials.

After two fatal tower crane accidents last year, New York City instituted a series of reforms to increase safety and oversight in the construction industry, including requiring a 30-hour class for crane operators and other workers on the safest way to raise and lower a tower crane. But some sessions of the city-mandated class are being taught by a union official who has admitted that he helped unqualified people, including organized crime figures, get into his union, according to sworn testimony and investigative reports. He and other union officials helped some of those men secure licenses to operate smaller cranes...

Beijing's Olympic building boom becomes a bust Many buildings in the city's impressive skyline are empty. By Barbara Demick February 22, 2009 Reporting from Beijing — "Empty," says Jack Rodman, an expert in distressed real estate, as he points from the window of his 40th-floor office toward a silver-skinned prism rising out of the Beijing skyline. "Beautiful building, but not a single tenant. "Completely empty. "Empty." /snip Beijing went through a building boom before the 2008 Summer Olympics that filled a staid communist capital with angular architectural feats that grace the covers of glossy design magazines. /snip By Rodman's calculations,...

ALBU HASSAN — The Iraqi Army (IA) provided security while U.S. Engineer Soldiers performed much needed maintenance on a road outside of Albu Hassan, Feb. 3. The road is a shortcut for Iraqi citizens to travel from various villages to bigger cities like Hillah and Karbala. The 9th Engineer Battalion coordinated the project and contacted the IA to provide security for U.S. Soldiers on the ground. IA Soldiers secured the surrounding area while Cpl. Bracy L. Bahm, a heavy construction equipment operator, filled in holes, graded mud and smoothed out the road with a D7 Dozer. “The IA know what...

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/EXECUTIVEORDERUSEOFPROJECTLABORAGREEMENTSFORFEDERALCONSTRUCTIONPROJECTS/ Friday, February 6th, 2009 at 12:00 am EXECUTIVE ORDER: USE OF PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS FOR FEDERAL CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release February 6, 2009 EXECUTIVE ORDER - - - - - - - USE OF PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS FOR FEDERAL CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act, 40 U.S.C. 101 et seq., and in order to promote the efficient administration and...

I missed Clintonite moldy oldie-turned-Obama economic adviser Robert Reich’s testimony a few weeks ago on how the government should spend federal stimulus money. The Berkeley professor engaged in academic fantasy land talk about getting all the cash out to workers as quickly as possible — a pipe dream debunked by the CBO report I mentioned in my column yesterday. Even more noteworthy, however, were the comments Reich made about which workers deserve the stimulus bucks most. Reich’s proposal exposes the lie that the Obama administration is actually interested in revitalizing basic infrastructure for the good of the economy. No, what...

Some home builders already struggling in Florida's dismal housing market are facing another headache: The Chinese-made drywall they used is causing unpleasant odors and possibly leading to electric problems in dozens of homes constructed during the housing boom.

Almost two-thirds of those who are out of work do not qualify for unemployment benefits. The law that created unemployment insurance was passed in response to the Great Depression of the 1930s. But since then, much has changed in the labor force, including the large numbers of self-employed who are left out of the system. Most people believe if they're laid off — downsized or simply out of a job — they will get unemployment insurance benefits. While each state has different guidelines on the amount paid and the length of time people can receive benefits, the federal system, created...

The housing market collapse is pulling down the entire economy, creating a credit freeze and putting hundreds of thousands of American jobs at risk. To get our economy back on track, Congress must address housing. A housing stimulus would include a short-term incentive for qualified home buyers in the form of a meaningful tax credit coupled with a permanent low mortgage rate. ____ Watch NAHB President and CEO Jerry Howard explain why we should Fix Housing First. Read an in-depth overview, a top-level summary and a fact sheet detailing the events that led up to the housing crisis and our...

Most homeowners and remodeling contractors are probably unaware that the US Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has new requirements for any remodeling contractor working in a pre-1978 structure. The link provided will send you to a copy of the new EPA brochure currently mandated by law, to be handed out by remodeling contractors to prospective clients including schools, daycare, rental property owners, and homeowners. A copy of the EPA Brochure is required BY LAW effective Dec22, 2008 (Yesterday) to be provided by the prospective contractor all prospective remodeling clients. (excerpt)You have the ultimate responsibility for the safety of your family, tenants,...

NY officials want older trucks fitted with emission-reducing equipment; cost put at $195M ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- New York is taking steps to reduce diesel emissions in its construction fleet. The Department of Environmental Conservation is floating proposed regulations requiring trucks made before 2007 to be fitted with emissions-reducing equipment and to use ultra-low-sulfur fuel by 2011. The new regulations would apply only to state-owned trucks or trucks used for state contract work. The DEC estimates it will cost $195 million to retrofit about 30,000 state trucks. The New York State

The condo building boom has come to a crashing halt. Overall housing starts tumbled 19 per cent in November, the slowest pace of residential construction activity since late 2001. But the decline in the vital condominium sector, which accounts for 50 to 60 per cent of housing construction in Vancouver and roughly 50 per cent of new-home building activity in Toronto, was down an even steeper 29 per cent month over month. Bank of Montreal economist Robert Kavcic said the report marked the second consecutive months of declines in the condo sector, with the pace of decline accelerating in November....

When Diana Higley received her September utility statement from Sheffield Utilities, she thought it was a mistake. It showed a $6.30 credit. But there was no mistake, the Tennessee Valley Authority's Sheffield affiliate assured her. Advertisement "I was shocked, amazed and thrilled," said Higley, who adopted her three grandchildren, ages 9, 8 and 4, to raise as a single mom. "I couldn't believe it. I never dreamed they would owe me money." Higley's dream came courtesy of Habitat for Humanity. In August she moved into a newly built 1,200-square-foot Habitat house in Tuscumbia. It is the first zero-energy, solar-powered Habitat...

GRAND PRAIRIE – Tina Belcher was mowing the lawn last spring when she noticed her house falling apart. "It crumbled like crackers," he said. "The whole thing fell off in my hand. I thought, 'Oh no, this isn't going to work.' " Up to 600 homes in North Texas face similar decay in the coming year as a result of low-quality bricks that infiltrated the market three years ago, say brick industry builders and distributors. They have traced the faulty bricks to Camargo, a Mexican manufacturer that shipped them to Landmark Brick, a Collin County-based distributor. Both have gone out...

Construction spending fell by a smaller-than-expected amount in September as a rebound in nonresidential activity helped offset further weakness in home building.

<p>La Quinta, Calif., resident says the space was a bedroom when she bought the house 30 years ago, but the city says it's her responsibility to undo the illegal conversion.</p> <p>Ageda Camargo was sitting in her shady frontyard, wondering aloud if jail is as bad as it sounds.</p>