by Pierre G. Villere Among the most frustrating aspects of life as we went through the pandemic, and which haunts us still today, is the employment picture. There is no minimizing the magnitude of the human tragedy, with an official tally of over 5.2 million hospital admissions and a stunning 1.04 million deaths; the sheer human loss is unspeakable. But…
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Contractor Hardon elevates site manager workspaces, crew productivity
SkyPodz LLC, a sister business of Buford, Ga. concrete contractor Hardon Inc., has developed a mobile office for high-rise construction. A lightweight, temporary structure hoisted by crane and mounted to any floor slab, the SkyPod allows site managers and superintendents to remain closer to their work. It provides an enclosed office, storage, and power source for any trade, and saves…
Read MoreContractors issue Concrete/Steel Price Risk statement
Sources: American Society for Concrete Contractors, St. Louis; CP staff The American Society of Concrete Contractors’ 45th Position Statement, “Managing Concrete Projects: Concrete/Steel Price and Delivery Volatility Risks,” provides a contractor’s point of view for architects, engineers, owners and other contract stakeholders contending with current supply chain volatility.
Read MoreMaking a Case for Reduced Inflation
by Pierre G. Villere We like to read the in-depth research on a wide range of topics that can affect the economic health of our industry, since it is our firm’s primary specialty. In the years I have been at the helm, I find the reports published by the global banks to be informative, and usually spot-on. They have large…
Read MoreHow Increasing Wages Are Affecting Our Economy
It’s February, so some of the year-end economic metrics for 2021 are starting to be reported, and it is no surprise to see that wages took a big jump last year. Wage increases were fueled by the unexpected supply chain morass that the Covid-19 lockdown precipitated, and were further compounded by the amount of stimulus cash that was injected into…
Read MoreRaw material, freight costs drive GCP admixture price increase
Source: GCP Applied Technologies Inc., Alpharetta, Ga. GCP Applied Technologies will raise concrete admixture prices up to 10 percent for North American customers, effective January 2022. “The global supply chain impacts on raw material and freight costs have been unprecedented over the past six months and input costs are not expected to subside in the near-term,” explains GCP Specialty Construction…
Read MoreWilloughby succeeds Command Alkon CEO Ramsey
Source: Command Alkon, Birmingham, Ala.; CP staff Construction materials-centric IT leader Command Alkon has named Executive Vice President of Business Development and Chief Product Officer Martin Willoughby successor to President and Chief Executive Officer Phil Ramsey, who has served at the helm for 16 of his 30 years at the company and will remain on the board of directors. “I…
Read MoreU.S. Concrete adds northern California terminal, bulk storage site
Sources: U.S. Concrete Inc., Euless, Texas; CP staff U.S. Concrete has strengthened its West Region ready mixed operations through the acquisition of a cementitious materials terminal, bulk storage facility, and eight-acre parcel with access to the Port of Stockton, Calif. Port officials note that the previous owner, George Weinberger Properties, had leased the site to Boral Resources.
Read MoreCemex helps charter IBM-powered OpenBuilt supply chain platform
Sources: IBM and Red Hat, Armonk, N.Y.; Cemex S.A.B. de C.V., Monterrey, Mexico; CP staff Cemex and four European partners aim to develop OpenBuilt, a platform programmed to help securely connect fragmented construction industry supply chains and offer digital solutions to help innovate and drive more efficient, sustainable and safer projects. Part company, part ecosystem, OpenBuilt will function independently with…
Read MoreCemex upgrades Mexico mill to feed U.S. West Coast terminals
Sources: Cemex S.A.B. de C.V., Monterrey, Mexico; CP staff Cemex will invest around $15 million to fire up an idled kiln at its CPN cement plant in northwest Mexico, yielding more powder for terminals north of the border by mid-2021. The producer presently supplies more than 3 million tons of cement annually across Arizona, California and Nevada from its Victorville…
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