Project cancellations continue to mount, new surveys by AGC, Industrial Info Resources and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) show. In AGC’s latest online survey, conducted May 18-21, 40% of the 742 respondents reported that a project owner had canceled a scheduled project, including 24% who had expected a start in June or later (up from 37% and 20%, respectively, in the May 4-7 survey). One-fifth of respondents reported working on additional or expanded projects, a share that changed little from the previous three surveys.

The Census Bureau on Thursday released the first round of a new emailed Small Business Pulse Survey, with 22,449 responses from April 26 to May 2, that “is intended to provide crucial weekly data on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the nation’s businesses.” Results are displayed as data visualizations that allow comparisons across industries, states and other metrics. Construction firms fared slightly better than the all-industry average in terms of adding to headcount during the week (6.6% of construction respondents vs. 4.2% overall) or shrinking it (25.9% vs.

AGC of America Chief Economist Ken Simonson releases the AGC Caronavirus Survey Results in the following playlist:

The first impacts of the pandemic on construction spending showed up in the Census Bureau’s data for March, posted on Friday. Although total spending put in place increased 0.9% at a seasonally adjusted annual rate from February and 4.7% from March 2019, the increase was concentrated in the volatile residential improvements segment, which jumped by $17 billion (10%) over the month. All other categories—public, private nonresidential and new residential construction—slipped by a combined 0.5% for the month. Notably, spending declined from February in 10 of the 11 private nonresidential categories in Census’s press release. The exception was communication construction, which edged up 0.3%, possibly reflecting spending on facilities to meet demand for better connectivity for home-based work, education and entertainment.

May 4, 2020

FMI has released a report designed to inform readers of developing economic conditions impacting the design and construction industry and to
provide interim guidance on FMI’s construction put in place forecasts.

The information presented in the report was captured between March 15 and April 27 and comprises a combination of secondary and primary
sources, including a recent survey of Construction Industry Round Table (CIRT) member firms. CIRT is composed exclusively of leading
architectural, engineering and construction firms doing business in the United States. 

You may view the report here

Quick receipt of Paycheck Protection Program loans may be helping contractors retain or add staff, despite mounting project cancellations. A survey that AGC conducted online April 20-23 drew 849 respondents.

Good Morning AGC members,

Our friends at AmeriBen have been providing advice to their Human Resource Consulting clients during this ongoing pandemic. They prepared this webinar for their clients and are kindly making it available to others at no charge during this very unusual time.     Click the button below to follow the link to the recording.

What you Need to Know About Families First Coronavirus Response Act- Emergency Sick Leave and Emergency FMLA-20200416 1700-1

Evidence is mounting rapidly as to the damage from the pandemic to the economy and construction. “Economic activity contracted sharply and abruptly across all regions in the United States as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the Federal Reserve reported on Wednesday in the latest “Beige Book,” a summary of informal surveys of businesses in the 12 Fed districts from late February to April 5. (Districts are referenced by the names of their headquarters cities.) Comments relevant to construction included the following. Boston: “steep declines in [commercial] construction activity.” New York: “Businesses in construction…noted declines in their selling prices…New construction starts have essentially fallen to zero, and ongoing construction projects have paused, except where considered essential.” Philadelphia: “Philadelphia's commercial real estate construction fell 70% by the end of March—some contractors have no projects.

It has been a while, but we're back to filming! On today's Words with Wayne, get an update on the upcoming primary election and the latest on COVID-19.

Be sure to check the Idaho AGC website for the latest COVID-19 information and to see our full calendar of upcoming training and events.