09/08/2010 11:49 AM

The accompanying table records the 10 largest construction project starts in Canada in August 2010. Also included is the latest trend graph on starts. This looks at 12-month moving totals of the two major non-residential building categories in Canada − total ICI starts and engineering work. ICI stands for industrial, commercial and institutional.

09/08/2010 08:30 AM

The recovery in the construction materials market stalled in May, reversed significantly in June and fell slightly more in July. Materials orders dropped 4.3% in the last three months causing a 3.6% fall in manufacturers’ shipments and a 0.5% decline in prices. Production has adjusted slowly, rising 0.3% which has boosted inventories 1.6% and pushed the inventory/sales ratio for manufacturers from an average plus reading of 1.31 back to 1.37, the same level as a year ago, says Reed Construction Data chief economist Jim Haughey.

09/08/2010 06:36 AM

09/08/2010 06:25 AM

It seems that the consensus view regarding the recently introduced harmonized sales tax in British Columbia and Ontario has been negative, primarily on account of the perception that the HST is a tax grab that also increases new house prices.

09/03/2010 06:00 AM

It’s well-established that a black or dark-colored car will absorb and trap more heat than a lighter-colored; anyone who’s dared to venture into a black car that’s been sitting in the summer sun has certainly experience this “oven effect”. Similarly, a building’s roof acts the same way, maintaining lower temperatures by utilizing a surface that reflects sunlight and emits heat much more efficiently than a roof with a darker color or little reflectivity. Enter the cool roof, which is a roof designed to keep a lower temperature in the sun. The benefits of a cool roof can literally pay off in reduced energy costs, as air conditioning needs decrease, and possibly extend the life of the roof by minimizing harmful sun exposure.

09/03/2010 03:40 AM

Today’s jobs market report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics may provide a much needed spark of confidence for the U.S. economy, especially its workers and

09/02/2010 12:23 PM

Impending building code legislation in Pennsylvania has spurred not only argument, but legal action in effort to halt its implementation. In any other year news about state-mandated building codes might merely be a blip on the radar, but with a struggling economy and housing market the conflict’s broader theme of government’s seemingly simultaneous help and hindrance to business plays out as a national debate on a smaller scale. Effective January 1, 2011, Pennsylvania will require sprinkler systems in all newly-built single family homes. Sprinkler systems have already been required in new multi-family homes, as part of the building code effective since January 1, 2010.

09/01/2010 09:00 AM

According to North America’s four major stock market indices, equity prices have been moving sideways for almost a year. There was a spurt in April 2010, when 52-week highs were recorded, but there have been mainly double-digit percentage declines since then, taking index levels back to where they were in October-November 2009. The exception on the plus side has been the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE), which has benefited from a firming up of some commodity prices and, most recently, a takeover bid for Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan by BHP Billiton of Australia.

09/01/2010 08:00 AM

Although most states had marginal gains in their economic activity index in July activity was weaker or steady in enough states to keep the national economic activity index unchanged. The stall is expected to be brief since it is the aftershock from the expiration of homebuyer tax credit and the ebbing of many of the federal pump priming spending programs, says Reed Construction Data chief economist Jim Haughey.

09/01/2010 07:55 AM

This chart shows the ranking of states by recent economic performance, including data on the last three months (annualized – July) and changes in economic activity for the latest three months (annualized) versus the previous year.