Industry Trends
Commercial construction sector looks promising moving forward
Unemployment rates are strikingly lower through 2015 in the U.S. construction market compared to other markets and equipment purchases are on the rise. While 2015 might not be a record-setting year for the industry, signs indicate that the construction sector may continue with an upward trend for several years. According to Jones Lang LaSalle, construction unemployment has declined 20 percent year-over-year since June 2014, and construction demand continues to grow. Earlier this year, Wells Fargo released a forecasting report on the construction industry which included 2015 equipment purchases. The banking institution estimated an increase in new and used equipment purchases throughout 2015. Also included in the Wells...
read moreGenFlex practices Energy Action Month all year
President Obama declared October Energy Action Month as part of an overall federal agency initiative to reduce energy consumption. Every year, commercial buildings represent nearly one-fifth of all U.S. energy consumption, according to the Department of Energy. In the commercial sector, the top three end uses of energy consumption include space heating, lighting and space cooling. Combined, these three components represent approximately half of all commercial building energy consumption. To go along with this, commercial energy consumption grew between 58 percent and 69 percent from 1980 to 2009 and continues to rise. In more recent years, LEED® certification and the WELL Building Standard® are on the rise, and building...
read moreGenFlex helps clear the air on VOCs
“Green” means many things to many people. For building owners, it typically refers to the energy efficiency of a building. For general contractors, it can indicate the sustainability of products and practices. For architects, it sometimes represents the impact of construction on the surrounding ecosystem. And for roofers, we often think of “green” as the amount of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in the products we use. It’s estimated that more than 80,000 chemicals are commonly used in construction around the world, and there’s a growing backlash against potentially toxic additives like VOCs – a class of chemicals whose emissions can exacerbate respiratory illnesses like asthma. If you’re a construction...
read moreKeep cool this summer with GenFlex’s TPO roofing system
It’s no secret that a building’s energy efficiency and performance are greatly affected by the materials that are used to construct the building. It’s also no secret that selecting the best roofing system for your building can have a significant impact on the building’s cooling costs. Reflective roofing materials protect a building from extreme heat in the summer and reduce surface temperature on the roof by as much as 30 percent, according to Facility Maintenance Decisions magazine. Studies have indicated that reflective surfaces will cool the building in the summer, decreasing the use of air conditioning and, in turn, decrease cooling costs. In fact, in certain geographic regions, the GenFlex TPO cool roof system...
read moreDid the outlook for construction in Q1 live up to expectations?
Industry experts were very optimistic coming in to 2015 based on strong commercial construction in 2014. But did the first quarter of the year hold true to predictions, or did the industry see an unexpected downturn of activity? Fortunately for much of the commercial construction industry, the quarter saw an upward tick. “When you compare and contrast where our economy stood prior to the 2008-2009 crisis, you realize how far we have come and how far we still need to go,” according to the magazine article 2015 Construction Outlook: An Economic Recovery Finds Its Footing. Moving into 2015 Building Design + Construction cited New York, Dallas, and Houston to the top three positions respectively for future commercial...
read moreRoofing industry growth looks promising for 2015
As a whole, the commercial construction industry noticed an increase in new building activity throughout much of 2014, and positive momentum is expected to continue through 2015. The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) predict a continued rebound for the U.S. commercial and industrial construction industries this year. This is particularly true in segments related to U.S. energy and industrial production, according to a recent NRCA feature (“ABC forecasts continued construction industry growth in 2015”). Specifically, ABC expects nonresidential construction spending to grow by approximately 7.5 percent in 2015, driven primarily by power, lodging, office space and manufacturing. “Contractors should continue to...
read moreGenFlex launched new Self-Adhered TPO membrane at IRE
GenFlex used one of the largest roofing expos in the world, the 2015 International Roofing Expo (IRE) in New Orleans, to launch an industry-first adhesive technology. The GenFlex EZ TPO Peel & Stick™ membrane is the first ever self-adhered TPO system that can be installed in temperatures as low as 20 degrees Fahrenheit and as high as 120 degrees Fahrenheit. This improved self-adhesive formula gives roofers a much wider installation window – for more productive, profitable crews. “The Peel & Stick membrane has been a great time-saver for contractors – no more hauling buckets of adhesive around the job site, mixing and waiting for flash off,” said Eric Ziemba, General Manager for GenFlex. “But what makes this a game...
read moreConstruction industry looking to gain momentum into 2015
The construction sector has seen steady growth throughout much of 2014, and that is expected to more than double in 2015. Dodge Data & Analytics has released its 2015 Dodge Construction Outlook, and the report predicts a 9 percent increase for 2015 in construction starts resulting in $612 billion. For perspective year over year, the report expected a 5[kn1] percent increase for 2014 resulting in $564 billion, according to an article by the National Roofing Contractors Association. Commercial buildings are anticipated to tie with single-family housing for the top growing sectors in the construction industry, both areas expected to grow 15 percent in dollars. Going along with the rise in construction starts, the...
read moreEconomic recovery putting many construction workers back to work
While the economic recovery has been uneven, the construction industry is bouncing back – and putting construction professionals back to work. The NRCA cites a recent Bureau of Labor Statistics study that the majority of construction workers who lost their jobs during the recession have been rehired within the industry. Nearly 400,000 skilled construction workers fell victim to the economic downturn; as of January, 62 percent have been re-employed in construction. Of these, 40 percent have seen their income meet or exceed their pre-recession paychecks; on the employer side, most construction companies are willing to keep increasing pay to attract the right employees. Skilled workers are the backbone of the construction...
read moreCommercial construction going strong
With the prime homebuying season in the rearview mirror, the Wall Street Journal reports that U.S. new home sales through August are basically even from a year ago at this time, with the National Association of Home Builders predicting an annual sales increase of just 2-3 percent. The sluggish pace of residential construction hasn’t been matched in the commercial/industrial market, fortunately. According to Reed Construction Data (now called CMD), growth in non-residential building starts have nearly doubled the pace of new home starts through August (compared to January-August 2013). Healthy growth in architectural billings and new design contracts over the last four months bodes well for the future of commercial construction...
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