Article from reuters.com

WASHINGTON, U.S. construction spending fell in August for the second straight month to its lowest level in eight months, an unexpected drop driven by weakness across public and private sectors. The successive declines suggest home building might not help economic growth in the third quarter.

The Commerce Department said on Monday construction spending dropped 0.7 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.142 trillion, the lowest since December 2015.

Economists had expected outlays to rise 0.2 percent.

The government also revised downward its estimate for July, saying spending declined 0.3 percent rather than the initial estimate that outlays were unchanged.

In August, private construction spending fell 0.3 percent, with outlays on residential construction down by the same amount.

Spending on private nonresidential structures fell 0.4 percent in August.

Public construction spending dropped 2.0 percent in August to the lowest level since March 2014, with lower spending reported for highways and schools.

Timelapse photos of construction in Rio de Janeiro show the vast development the city has undergone in preparation for the 2016 Olympics. The photos were taken over the course of years by satellite imaging company DigitalGlobal.

Construction of venues is always a big topic leading up to the Olympic Games, and the conversation usually revolves around whether the venues will be ready in time.

Construction safety also became a part of the 2016 Olympics conversation, after a report released earlier this year by Rio de Janeiro's Regional Labor and Employment Office confirmed that eleven workers had died while working on Olympic venues or related projects. The report noted that the number of deaths reported prior to the 2012 Olympics in London was zero. When Brazil hosted the World Cup in 2014, at least 8 workers died in construction accidents.

ESPN reported that the causes of death vary from electric shock to falling scaffolding. There also were cases of workers being buried and vehicles overturning.

Original article by Michael Voelker on Property Casualty 360

Call it “the Big Build-Up”: construction-focused carriers are cheering the multi-year run of positive news in the building sector. Growth in nonresidential construction is projected at more than 7.4% in 2016, according to the industry trade group Associated Builders and Contractors.

Four key areas of growth stand out: large commercial residential buildings, infrastructure projects, renewable energy, and transformation of manufacturing or other commercial facilities into new uses. Although commercial residential has slowed a bit from its blistering double-digit growth pace in recent years, Dodge Data & Analytics, which provides news and intelligence for the North American construction industry, still predicts a 7% increase in 2016.

Article written by Tom Ichniowski on ENR.com

With the $305-billion Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act on the books for nearly three months, the focus now has shifted to moving the five-year measure’s 2016 funding out to the states and turned into construction contracts. As the FAST Act implementation phase heats up, the U.S. Dept. of Transportation is moving to set up the statute’s new programs, and state agencies are gearing up for bid lettings for this year’s fast-approaching construction season.

DOT Deputy Secretary Victor Mendez told the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ annual Washington briefing on Feb. 24, “In order to make this a reality, we know we have to get busy to implement the FAST Act.” He added, “At the federal level, we are working very hard to make sure that these funds get to all of you as quickly as possible.”