Three credible sources offer a welcome follow up on the encouraging 2013 construction and concrete business outlook noted here last month. In investor guidance, the top U.S. aggregate producers—each with varying levels of integrated concrete, cement, asphalt and road building businesses—report slight 2012 sales or earnings improvement over the prior year, plus 2013 market confidence underpinned by MAP-21 highway bill funding, plus gains in residential and nonresidential building.
Read MoreMonth: March 2013
Hearing JDM and County Concrete, NLRB reigns in Teamsters’ campaigns
Sources: National Labor Relations Board; CP staff
Pennsylvania and New Jersey ready mixed producer petitions have prompted the NLRB to rebuke Teamsters locals for attempts to restrain or divert commerce in violation of the National Labor Relations Act.
Read MoreNet zero Walgreens prototype rises with CalStar masonry units
Sources: Walgreen Co., Deerfield, Ill.; CP staff
Fly ash-bound brick and paver producer CalStar Products Inc. in Racine, Wis., is among suppliers to what retail giant Walgreen believes will be the nation’s first net zero energy store—engineered to produce an amount of power equal to or greater than what it consumes.
Read MoreEnergy reduction lands Turner Construction EPA Climate Leadership award
Sources: Environmental Protection Agency; Turner Construction Co., New York; CP staff
Lower electricity consumption at fixed offices, contributing to a 5 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions over a five-year period, spawned a 2013 Climate Leadership Award for general contractor top gun Turner Construction. Installation of interactive, real time dashboards has allowed employees to see current power use and usage patterns, and compare their energy consumption levels against those of other Turner offices.
Read MoreOSHA construction committee to revisit signage standard
Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
The OSHA Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health will meet March 18 to consider a proposed rule updating the agency’s standard on accident prevention signs and tags in construction. The standard requires that signs and symbols be visible at all times to warn workers of existing hazards when work is being performed. The updates are based on revisions in the American National Standards Institute consensus standards.
Read MoreFleet management helps CalPortland coast to record Energy Star award streak
Sources: CalPortland Co., Glendora, Calif.; Environmental Protection Agency; CP staff
EPA will honor leading West Coast cement, ready mixed and aggregate producer CalPortland with the 2013 Energy Star Sustained Excellence Award, March 26 in Washington, D.C.
Read MoreFlorida lawmakers draft concrete masonry check-off legislation
Sources: CP staff; National Concrete Masonry Association, Herndon, Va.
Florida State Senator Denise Grimsley’s (R-District 21) Concrete Masonry Products Research, Education, and Promotion Act (SB 944) would create a Florida Concrete Masonry Council and authorize it to manage assessments on unit sales to support industry promotion in the Sunshine State.
Read MoreAggregate shipment totals reinforce positive 2012 construction market trends
Sources: U.S. Geological Survey; Rock Products Magazine
Consumption of construction-grade crushed stone and sand & gravel in the U.S. reached nearly 2 billion metric tons (Gt) last year, up 60 million metric tons (Mt) from 2011. USGS estimates last year’s shipments split between 1.16 Gt of cushed stone and 832 Mt of sand & gravel.
Read MoreArchitecture 2030 chief to NRMCA: Climate solution at building sector’s doorstep
Sources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff
Architecture 2030 founder Ed Mazria told attendees at the NRMCA annual convention, San Antonio, that public and private entities’ eye on lower greenhouse gas emissions is driving a transformation in commercial and residential building design and construction methods, affirming, “There’s no holding it back.”
Read MoreMIT researchers extend vehicle fuel efficiency case for concrete pavement
Sources: Portland Cement Association, Skokie, Ill.; CP staff
A Massachusetts Institute of Technology report, “Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Estimating the Impact of Deflection-Induced Pavement-Vehicle Interaction on Fuel Consumption,” cites the potential for $15 billion in annual fuel costs—plus attendant lower greenhouse gas emissions—tied to rigid pavement specifications.
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