Road Builders see minor 2018 transportation construction rebound

Sources: American Road & Transportation Builders Association, Washington, D.C.; CP staff

After a 2.8 percent year-over-year decline in 2017, total domestic transportation construction and related-market outlays are projected to reach $255 billion next year, according to the ARTBA Transportation Construction Market Forecast.

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Road Builders project minor boost in 2017 highway, bridge activity

Sources: American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), Washington, D.C.; CP staff

Total transportation construction and related market activity is expected to grow 1.3 percent in 2017, driven largely by increases in highway and bridge work supporting residential and commercial developments. ARTBA Chief Economist Dr. Alison Premo Black projects spending to reach $248 billion, up from an estimated $245 billion in 2016. 

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FAST highway bill tempers FMCSA regulatory burdens for mixer drivers

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The FAST (Fixing America’s Surface Transportation) Act signed into law late last year contains language for which the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association lobbied on behalf of ready mixed concrete producers. Government Affairs staff helped secure within the five-year funding program three important provisions tied to Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA) Hours of Service (HOS) regulations:

 
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Road Builders: FAST stabilizes highway funding, bumps DOT purchasing power

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An American Road & Transportation Builders Association analysis of the five-year, $305 billion Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST) signed into last month finds: “While the total core highway investment increase during the [five-year] life of the bill will be just over 15 percent, yearly assessments are a better gauge of market impact. Highway investment will jump 5.1 percent in FY 2016 and then slow to rates of growth between 2.1 percent and 2.4 percent for [FY 2017–2020]. Investment levels will exceed projected inflation by a total of $1.7 billion over five years and beat projected construction material cost increases by $1 billion over the same period. As a result, federal highway investment will see narrow increases in purchasing power through 2020, but the FAST Act’s biggest impact on the highway construction market will be the stability it provides states and the private sector.”

 
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FAST highway bill tempers FMCSA regulatory burdens for mixer drivers

Sources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff

The FAST (Fixing America’s Surface Transportation) Act signed into law earlier this month contains language for which NRMCA has lobbied on behalf of ready mixed concrete producers. Government Affairs staff helped secure within the five-year funding program three important provisions affecting the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Hours of Service (HOS) regulations:

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Economist charts highway bill’s positive effect on cement demand through 2020

Sources: Portland Cement Association, Skokie, Ill.; CP staff

Taking stock of highway and transit program funding levels in the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, signed into law earlier this month, PCA Chief Economist Ed Sullivan sees attendant increases in cement and concrete demand for FY 2016–2020.

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