Author: agcnews

On Monday, September 20th, AGC Charities is holding a volunteer day at Give Kids the World Village to make improvements to the facility including replacing a protective fence and upgrading bathrooms at one of the Village’s pools. Watch this video here to learn more about the project. With your help, we can make this year’s AGC Charities Operation Opening Doors project a success so we can make sure these special kids get is truly spectacular. Read more.

Construction Association Calls on President to Immediately End Tariffs and Quotas on Steel, Aluminum, and Lumber as First Step to Easing Pressure on Construction Costs and Supply-Chain Bottlenecks The cost of goods and services used in construction climbed by a record-setting 4.3 percent in May and 24.3 percent over the past 12 months, jeopardizing contractors’ solvency and construction workers’ employment, according to an analysis by AGC of government data released today. Association officials urged the Biden administration to move more quickly to end tariffs and quotas that are adding to construction materials costs and availability problems. “The increase in producer prices for…

As AGC continues to pressure the Small Business Administration (SBA) to change its approach to applications for the forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Loans over $2M, the agency finally appears to be doing just that. The agency has yet to make any announcements and details are still missing. There is, however, a growing body of anecdotal and other evidence that the agency is finally accelerating the process of forgiving these loans. Over the last three business days, AGC has received either first-hand or reliable reports that SBA has forgiven another nine of these loans (over $2M) to AGC members. If this…

On June 9, AGC and the business community urged President Biden to remove steel and aluminum tariffs and quotas on the nation’s allies to help address significant price and availability issues for those construction materials. For instance, a widely watched index of steel prices rose 11% in April alone, setting new record highs each week. Many suppliers have warned of difficulty in securing truck or rail transportation from factories, distribution centers and ports. One steel manufacturer, for example, reported on April 28 having to wait 15 days for railcars to ship a load of steel. Recent reports speculate that the president and European Union…

On June 10, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved legislation to reauthorize federal-aid highway and transit programs, on a mostly partly line vote. This five-year, $547 billon bill will now go to the full House for a floor vote at a yet to be determined date. An AGC analysis of this legislation as passed by committee may be found here. While AGC is supportive of the investment levels in this legislation, the association has significant concerns with the bill’s significant restrictions to building new highways and expanding highway lanes and lack of environmental review and permit streamlining initiatives, among other…

AGC warns could result in significant delays for infrastructure project delivery Advancing legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate include an AGC-opposed provision that would expand federal-aid highway and transit programs’ Buy America requirements to “construction materials” broadly. AGC and other industry stakeholders are concerned that this new requirement would include but not be limited to aggregates that are used to make products like cement and asphalt. Many regions of the country, for example, consume all of their domestically produced cement and therefore rely on imported cement to support local construction projects. Advocates of the provision point…

On June 10, U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh announced that the long-anticipated federal COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will only apply to healthcare settings. This represents a significant change from early reports that the new standard would apply to a broad range of industries, including construction. The fact that the ETS only applies to healthcare settings is a significant victory for AGC and the industry. AGC led a broad coalition effort to question the need for the standard, considering the widespread adoption of coronavirus vaccines and the fact the construction industry has been operating,…

Construction Association Calls for End to Tariffs on Lumber, Steel and Aluminum in Order to Deliver Prompt Relief Instead of Imposing New Restrictions on Hiring, Training, and Work Agreements The chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America, Stephen E. Sandherr, issued the following statement in reaction to the announcement today by the White House of actions it will take to address supply-chain disruptions: “The construction industry is experiencing widespread and growing problems with the cost and supply of materials. These challenges will make it more costly and difficult to achieve the administration’s goals for infrastructure, renewable energy,…

Gains on WOTUS, Endangered Species Act Regulations & More in Jeopardy The Biden Administration has taken several steps in the last two weeks to begin the process of repealing and modifying many of the prior administration’s signature environmental permitting reforms related to species and water permits—including waters of the United States (WOTUS). Over the prior four years, AGC supported many of these reforms that added greater clarity, scope, timelines, and certainty to the federal permitting process. AGC will continue to highlight that permitting delays will only impede the Administration’s goal to invest in and increase the resilience of the nation’s…

Many Construction Firms Also Report Difficulty Finding Qualified Workers to Hire as Some Remain Reluctant to Return to Work amid Child Care Challenges and Elevated Unemployment Supplements Construction employment declined for the third time in the past four months in May as nonresidential contractors coped with lengthening and unpredictable delivery times that limited their ability to start or complete projects, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government data released today. Association officials added that many contractors report they are having a hard time finding qualified workers to hire as some people remain reluctant to…