Ken Simonson
Ken Simonson
costs fuel growth highway materials
Fast-rising materials and fuel costs have exaggerated the growth in some of these categories, especially highway construction.
building copper diesel energy fuel heavy materials power
Contractors use a lot of diesel fuel to power bulldozers, trucks, and other heavy equipment. And many building materials industries, such as copper and steel, are energy intensive.
add adding aftermath area couple demand expect helpful improvement katrina materials produced putting retail rita roots sent slow total worth
I expect some slow improvement in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita will be helpful to the D-FW area in a couple of ways. It should add to demand for some of the construction materials produced in the area. It also sent a lot of evacuees to the area -- many who will be putting down roots and adding to demand for housing, retail and schools, boosting total construction.
affect demand diesel gas knocked likely loss materials natural oil pick prices production storms supplies
Many construction materials are likely to be pricier and scarcer because the storms knocked out so much supply, even if demand does not pick up. The loss of substantial oil and natural gas production will affect supplies and prices for diesel fuel, asphalt, roofing materials, insulation, PVC pipe, coatings and assorted construction plastics.
adds damaged demand depends katrina materials rebuilding recovery speed types whether
Whether the recovery from Katrina adds to demand for construction materials depends on the types and speed of rebuilding in damaged areas.
again cement certainly certainty fully heading likely material near prices severe spike until
I think it's likely that prices will spike again and I think it's near certainty there will be some material shortages, ... Our cement shortages will certainly get worse. We're heading for severe shortages of cement at least until those ports are fully operational.
consumer costs materials period prolonged rapidly rise
I think we're in for a prolonged period in which construction materials costs are going to rise more rapidly than consumer costs.
adding expect jobs modest
I still expect construction to be adding jobs but at a more modest pace.
building capacity cement leveled plenty production
There's plenty of cement worldwide, but in the U.S., cement production capacity has leveled off and no one is building more plants.
equipment expensive harder kinds rubber steel
Rubber for construction equipment tires, (Sheetrock) and some kinds of steel may also be harder to find or more expensive because of the storms.
bag buy consumers effect home notice
Consumers who are doing repairs or additions to their home will notice the effect when they buy a bag of cement.
balanced cylinders growth hitting industry report shows spending
Today's report on construction spending shows the industry is hitting on all cylinders with strong, balanced growth.
among eight five grew growth higher major months nine past percent private public segments several steady total
Growth has been steady and well distributed among the major construction segments for the past several months. For the first 11 months of 2005, total construction was nine percent higher than in same months of 2004. Private residential construction grew 11 percent, public construction, eight percent, and private nonresidential, five percent.
immigrants impact noticeable percentage took
If a substantial percentage of the immigrants took the day away from work, that would have a noticeable impact on construction.