Know What's Happening in Construction
Know What's Happening in Construction
U.S. Cement Shipments Dip 1.7% in 2025 as December Volume Slightly Rises
December 2025 cement shipments reached an estimated 6.82 million metric tons, a modest rise from 6.79 Mt a year earlier. Yet total shipments for the year fell 1.7% to about 101 Mt compared with 2024. Blended cement is overwhelmingly Type IL, making up 96% of blended tonnage, with Texas the top producer and consumer.
A Traffic Control Plan (TCP) is a detailed blueprint that directs vehicle and pedestrian movement through road construction zones, specifying signs, barriers, detours, and sequencing. By establishing a predictable traffic environment, TCPs reduce driver confusion, congestion, and the risk of accidents involving workers. The plan also ensures compliance with transportation regulations, avoiding penalties and project delays. Partnering with professional traffic‑management firms further tailors the plan to site‑specific challenges, boosting overall project efficiency.
After two decades of stalled proposals, Midtown Alliance has broken ground on an interim public park at 98 14th St., a four‑acre parcel in the heart of Atlanta’s Midtown. The site, purchased for $46 million, will be leveled, grassed and equipped with walking...
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is overseeing more than $60 billion in active construction projects, the largest portfolio in its history. At any moment, over 11,000 projects are in planning, design, or construction across the state. This surge is funded...
Komatsu unveiled its next‑generation D175AX‑10 dozer at ConExpo 2026, replacing the D155AX‑8 with a completely new frame, powertrain and cab. The machine delivers up to 26% more horsepower, 25% higher material‑moving capacity and 15% better fuel efficiency while tightening the turning...
Waterline, a 74‑story mixed‑use tower slated for completion later this year, will rise to 1,025 feet, making it the tallest building in Texas. DPR Construction is using the project to showcase advanced smart‑building systems, sustainable materials, and integrated design that address...
Orlando’s construction market is set to accelerate in 2026, with Dodge Data & Analytics projecting $15.6 billion in new contracts across the metro area. A flagship $400 million redevelopment of Camping World Stadium, driven by Barton Malow Builders, AECOM Hunt and architect...
The bipartisan Safe Roads for Those Who Serve Act was introduced in the Senate to curb the growing toll of work‑zone fatalities and injuries. The bill would compel every state to improve data collection on highway‑worker incidents and to draft...
The Federal Highway Administration has allocated $108.7 million through its Bridge Investment Program to replace the Johnson and Gerstle River bridges in Alaska’s Southeast Fairbanks Census Area. Both structures currently impose weight limits that hinder heavy‑vehicle traffic on the primary overland...
The National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) released a survey detailing average annual salaries for nearly 40 construction craft professions. More than three‑quarters of the trades surveyed report base salaries exceeding $65,000, with several specialties topping $100,000. The...
Back when I worked at Fortune in early 2022, as it became clear the Pandemic Housing Boom was nearing its final inning, I suggested to readers that a quick-and-dirty metric to follow in the post-pandemic period would be active inventory...
Terra Capital has filed an entitlement request to replace a four‑plex at 1233 S. Bedford Street with an eight‑story, 44‑unit multifamily tower in Pico‑Robertson. The project seeks citywide housing incentives to exceed zoning limits, offering 24 parking spaces and a...
A new eldercare development is proposed at 14550 Delano Street in Van Nuys, replacing an auto‑repair shop. The seven‑story project would contain 223 residential units, including 45 moderate‑income and 178 low‑income apartments, plus a ground‑floor manager’s unit and adult day health...
AHM Group is set to break ground on “The 314,” a 29‑story, 287‑unit mixed‑use tower in downtown St. Louis that will be built primarily with cross‑laminated timber. The $232 million project, backed by $171 million in municipal bonds and a sales‑tax exemption,...
Catapult Real Estate Solutions received a caisson permit to replace the existing building at 4006 N. Sheridan with a seven‑story mixed‑use tower. The development will contain 91 rental units—11 studios, 46 one‑beds, and 34 two‑beds—plus 2,050 sq ft of street‑level retail and...
CES 2026 placed construction technology front‑and‑center, highlighting autonomous equipment, AI assistants, and electrified fleets. Caterpillar announced five Level‑4 autonomous vehicles and a voice‑controlled AI assistant for field operations. Startups showcased AI‑driven reporting, underground detection, and spatial‑computing wearables, while major OEMs...
Motive introduced Beacon, a compact Bluetooth tracker designed for small construction assets such as porta‑potties, air compressors, and containers. The device plugs into Motive’s Mesh Network, using vehicle gateways and mobile apps to capture location data without GPS or cellular...
UK contractors face rising construction costs, with inflation projected at 4% annually in 2026. Effective tender pricing requires a granular cost breakdown, risk contingencies of 5‑10%, and strategic approaches such as value engineering and cost‑plus contracts. Leveraging technology like BIM...
The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) is endorsing the International Model Building Act, the first global legislative template aimed at curbing dangerous building defects. Developed by the International Building Quality Centre and backed by experts such as Dame Judith Hackitt,...
Montana roadbuilders are adopting digital solutions such as John Deere’s Operations Center, intelligent compaction, and telematics to counter tighter margins, rising fuel costs, and labor constraints. These tools automate documentation, provide real‑time machine data, and enable digital project modeling, helping...
The Slag Cement Association unveiled the 2025 Slag Cement in Sustainable Concrete Award winners at the ACI Concrete Convention in Rosemont, Illinois. Fourteen projects from across the United States were honored in six categories, including lower‑carbon concrete, infrastructure, high performance,...
ECD NY Inc., the largest deep‑foundation contractor in the New York City metro area, expanded its equipment fleet at ConExpo 2026 by purchasing multiple Liebherr machines. The acquisition includes two THS 110 D‑K and two THS 140 D‑K crawler concrete pumps, a HS 8200 duty‑cycle crawler...
Trimble is extending its machine‑control platform to compact track loaders and mini excavators, delivering an all‑in‑one workflow that includes layout, guidance, in‑field design and as‑built capture. The solution works on legacy machines and is offered through subscription models that eliminate...
Traylor Bros. Inc. received a Liebherr LR 1400 SX crawler crane at ConExpo 2026, adding the machine to a fleet that already includes more than ten Liebherr models. The company highlighted the crane’s load‑chart alignment and class‑level reliability as key reasons for the...
The American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA) released three research reports from the Airport Concrete Pavement Technology Program (ACPTP) covering performance‑engineered mixtures, quality‑control best practices, and diamond‑grinding effects. The performance‑engineered mixture (PEM) framework links laboratory test results to field performance, establishing...
Wisconsin’s Department of Transportation is replacing the aging 1961 bridges on the I‑39/90/94 corridor with new structures spanning the Wisconsin River. Kraemer North America, the primary contractor, enlisted Dawes Rigging & Crane Rental to provide a 550‑ton Liebherr LTM 1450‑8.1 all‑terrain...
Keller North America announced at ConExpo 2026 the purchase of a Liebherr LRB 23 piling and drilling rig, expanding its nationwide deep‑foundation fleet. The LRB 23 offers a versatile platform that bridges the capability gap between smaller and larger Liebherr models. Its compact,...
Knauf Group has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Syrian government to develop a long‑term partnership for supplying construction materials. The agreement focuses on establishing local production of gypsum board, insulation and related building products to support Syria’s post‑conflict...
Construction has begun on three contemporary four‑story homes at 3120 Atwater Avenue in Los Angeles' Atwater Village, a site previously occupied by a 1920s single‑family house. The 7,400‑square‑foot lot will host two attached accessory dwelling units, adding significant density near...
Skanska’s new Kaye Residences, designed by Grzywinski + Pons, will rise 31 stories in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood, delivering 324 apartments and a mixed‑use podium with retail, co‑working, and hospitality‑grade amenities. The project fuses a masonry‑clad podium that respects adjacent 1920s Tudor and...
National Housing Inventory growth has slowed from the peak of 33% YoY last year to now, just 4.67% However, be mindful that the year-over-year comps are a big variable here. Just like it is with Florida's negative YoY inventory...
RapidQS has expanded from a UK‑only estimator to pricing construction projects across Ireland, Scotland, Portugal and the UK within a year. The analysis reveals labour rates climbing 8‑12% in Dublin, ICF construction inflating Irish unit costs by up to €25,000,...
The Iran‑Israel‑U.S. conflict has crippled Gulf aluminum production after an Iranian drone disabled the world’s largest smelter in Bahrain, forcing major EV manufacturers to trim output. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has removed roughly 20 million barrels of crude...
Derig Management secured a full building permit for a new residential project at 3600 N. Southport, a four‑story structure containing ten dwelling units. The development, designed by Jonathan Splitt Architects, will provide five parking spaces—four in an underground garage and...
The Lochnell Home Farm renovation on Argyll’s remote estate cost £580,091 ex VAT (£696,109 inc VAT), averaging £2,637 per m². The budget reflects heritage‑specific specifications such as natural hydraulic lime mortars, specialist conservation trades, and extensive preliminaries. Remote logistics added a 12% material...
Russell announced multiple honors at the Master Builders of Iowa Excellence Awards, including the Outstanding Company Safety Achievement Award and a Safety MVP Award for Superintendent Jared Allen. The firm also secured the top project accolade, the Master Builders of...
I had the privilege of touring the newly rehabilitated East River Tunnel 1, which took 13 months, on time and on budget, to go from a 115-year-old tunnel to one that’s state of the art. Our country still has the...
Construction employment in March 2026 reached 8.33 million, up 0.7 % year‑over‑year, driven by a 1.7 % rise in non‑residential jobs while residential employment fell 0.9 %. Average hourly earnings for production workers jumped 5 % to $38.62, outpacing the broader private sector. Job openings...
Atlanta developer TBG Residential is building The Overlook at Avondale Estates, the city’s first new senior housing project, featuring 66 affordable units for residents 55 and older. The 2741 E. College Ave. site, formerly an auto‑service lot, is about 40% complete...
Granite Construction secured a $114 million contract to rebuild Segment 4E North of California’s Highway 101 between Hermosillo Road and Salinas Street. The scope adds a new peak‑period carpool lane in each direction, replaces left‑hand ramps with right‑hand ramps, and installs a teardrop roundabout...
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded Barnard Construction $1.86 billion for dam‑safety upgrades at Prado and Whittier Narrows in Southern California. The Prado Dam spillway modification costs $1.13 billion and adds a labyrinth‑style design, while the Whittier Narrows project is a $735 million...
Atlanta Beltline officials announced a permanent upgrade for Segment 6 on the east‑side trail, slated to begin after the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The half‑mile stretch along Bill Kennedy Way will replace the interim narrow path and temporary I‑20 bridge with...
Demolition of Corpus Christi’s 1959 Harbor Bridge continues, forcing a partial closure of Bridgeport Avenue on North Beach through May. The old bridge was decommissioned in September 2025 after the new cable‑stayed Harbor Bridge opened in June 2025. Crews have...
Community opposition to data‑center projects surged in 2025, with cancellations nearly tripling from the prior year. Heatmap reports 25 projects were halted, 21 in the second half, and roughly 40% of the 99 contested sites are now scrapped. The U.S....
Oklahoma’s Department of Transportation is rolling out 100 new Route 66 pavement markings at 50 sites to celebrate the highway’s 100th anniversary. The $341,000 project, with $91,000 funded by ODOT, aims to improve road visibility ahead of a projected tourism surge....
Hitachi unveiled its midsized ZW120‑7 and ZW140‑7 wheel loaders at ConExpo 2026, expanding the Dash‑7 family that emphasizes efficiency, safety and advanced telematics. The ZW120‑7 is powered by a 97‑hp Deutz engine, carries a 2‑cubic‑yard bucket and reaches 21 mph, while the...
Steel prices have continued a steady decline, with the national average for structural steel falling to roughly $2,344 per ton in January 2026. That represents a 5.38% drop from the previous quarter and a 7.18% decrease year‑over‑year, extending a correction...
If it weren't the builders paying down rates, housing permits would be worse today. We will never build housing the way people want because we aren't a supply-first economy; the demand curve needs to align with it, and rental vacancies...
The U.S. construction sector added 26,000 jobs in March, lifting year‑over‑year employment by 57,000 positions, a 0.7% increase. Nonresidential construction drove the bulk of the gain, contributing 12,200 jobs across building, specialty trade, and heavy civil categories. The industry’s unemployment...
Amrize captured two top honors in the Lower Carbon Concrete category at the Slag Cement Association’s April awards ceremony in Chicago. The first award recognized a collaboration with Meta and the University of Illinois that used Meta’s open‑source AI models...
Turner Construction filed a $7 million lien on the $180 million Fairmont Heritage Place The Cedars condo project in Hendersonville, North Carolina, after stopping work and removing its crane. The lien reflects rising payment pressures in the multifamily sector, where delinquencies have...
