On today's Words With Wayne, Wayne brings some updates to you regarding AGC training, events, and the Contractor Education Series, as well as giving a shout out to this year's ENR Top 400 members.

Each September, the Idaho Business Review honors the top construction projects completed in Idaho. During a special awards event, they tell the stories and show the impact of top projects from around the state, with a focus on impact and we encourage members to submit for the awards.

Projects chosen as finalists will appear in a special magazine featuring detailed information about the projects. Winners are chosen by an expert panel of local judges based on the following criteria:

Good news!  The Spring 2020 issue of BuildingIdaho magazine should be in your inbox by now.  If you are not on the mailing list to receive this FREE bi-annual magazine, you can be added by emailing Hailey Reyes at hreyes@idahoagc.org.

You can also now read the digital version of the magazine by  clicking here

Would you like to submit content or recommend article topics for the next issue of BuildingIdaho?  Email Hailey at hreyes@idahoagc.org.

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.