Canada’s economy showed more signs of a recovery carried by companies instead of government stimulus, suggesting the central bank may continue raising interest rates.

Employment rose for a fifth straight month in May, a gain of 24,700 that was greater than economists predicted, after a record 108,700 jump in April, Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. Separate reports today also showed building permits rose on increased government and private projects, while the Ivey purchasing index reached the highest level since July 2008.

The Bank of Canada raised its key lending rate June 1 from a record low, the first such move in the Group of Seven, in part because of a “robust” economic expansion and a resumption of job growth. The bank also said further moves would be “weighed carefully” against recoveries in Canada and elsewhere amid a sovereign debt crisis in Europe.

“Canada’s economy has strong momentum going into the second quarter, and reinforces the Bank of Canada’s rationale for hiking rates this week despite what’s going on in Europe,” said Benjamin Reitzes, an economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto. “It pushes the bank towards a hike in July,” he said. The bank’s next decision is July 20.

One sign that companies are starting to lead the recovery was an increase in full-time jobs in May, Reitzes said. That kind of switch is needed because Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said that federal stimulus spending on infrastructure will end next March.

Payroll Employment

Full-time jobs rose by 67,300 and part-time jobs fell by 42,500 in May, Statistics Canada said. The report also showed a move to payroll employment, which increased by 52,800, while self-employment fell by 28,000.

The Ivey index of government and business purchasing managers rose to 62.7 in May from 58.7 in April, with readings greater than 50 indicating a gain in purchases.

European Concerns

The Canadian dollar weakened 1.2 percent to C$1.0522 per U.S. dollar at 12:54 p.m. in Toronto, from C$1.0402 yesterday. The domestic figures were overshadowed by concern that European governments won’t be able to finance deficits, said Carlos Leitao, chief economist with Laurentian Bank Securities Inc. in Montreal. A spokesman for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said today that talk of a default is “not an exaggeration” because a previous administration “manipulated” figures.

The Bank of Canada’s statement June 1 mentioned Europe or sovereign debt concerns four times in a one-page statement. The domestic figures today still suggest the Bank of Canada will increase interest rates in July, Leitao said.

“It does confirm that the Canadian economy, particularly Canadian domestic demand, is still very robust,” Leitao said. “It adds to the mounting evidence that the Bank of Canada should continue to increase interest rates.”

The jobs report showed average hourly wage growth quickened to 2.4 percent in May from a year ago, compared with 2 percent in April.

“The labor market is moving back in the right direction, the only caveat I would put on it is that it hasn’t recovered as quickly as output,” said Erin Weir, an economist at the United Steelworkers in Toronto.

Fastest Growth

Canada’s gross domestic product grew at a 6.1 percent annualized first-quarter pace, the fastest in a decade, Statistics Canada reported May 31. The economy was in a recession in the first and second quarters of last year.

The central bank sets interest rates to keep inflation at 2 percent, and the consumer price index accelerated to 1.8 percent in April from March’s 1.4 percent pace.

The employment data should “up the ante” on further interest rate increases, said Derek Holt, economist with Scotia Capital Inc. in Toronto in a note to clients. “There is no poking holes in the details. A 25-basis-point hike on July 20th remains our call.”

General Motors Co. said June 1 it will spend C$245 million at a factory in St. Catharines, Ontario, to produce six-speed transmissions. The company had earlier committed another C$235 million for engine production, and the two projects will support 800 jobs.

U.S. Payrolls

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mike Duke said June 2 he expects international expansion to accelerate as the world’s largest retailer attempts to make up for slowing growth in the U.S. Sales for the Fayetteville, Arkansas-based company in countries such as China, Mexico and Canada jumped 8.9 percent on a constant-currency basis in the first quarter, while U.S. sales declined 1.4 percent.

–With assistance by Alexandre Deslongchamps in Ottawa. Editors: Andrew Barden, Paul Badertscher

source:  http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-04/canadian-companies-power-recovery-with-jobs-construction-plans.html

Construction employment declined in May as 35,000 workers lost jobs, offsetting most of the increases the industry experienced in March and April, according to a new analysis of federal employment figures by the Associated General Contractors of America.

“Growing stimulus activity was clearly offset by weak private sector demand and diminished state and local construction budgets last month,” said Ken Simonson, AGC’s chief economist. “Unfortunately, construction employment is likely to remain both relatively low and unstable until at least early 2011.”

Construction employment declined from 5,626,000 to 5,591,000 between April and May 2010, Simonson said. Meanwhile, the construction unemployment rate, which is not seasonally adjusted, declined from 21.7 percent to 20.1 percent during the same period. With more than 1.7 million construction workers unemployed, Simonson said that the industry’s unemployment rate was still more than double the national rate and was the highest May rate since studies began in 1976.

Nonresidential construction employment was particularly hard hit in May, accounting for 28,100, or more than four out of five of the jobs lost in construction last month. Developer-financed construction investments, including office, retail and multi-family residential, have all declined in 2010.

As a result of high vacancy rates, private sector construction demand is likely to remain weak for some time, association officials said, adding that state and local construction demand would remain soft for longer considering the budget shortfalls for most state and municipal governments.

“With the temporary stimulus already starting to run its course, it is time for federal officials to act on the longer term infrastructure programs that will give construction workers a chance to make it through the protracted construction downturn,” said Stephen Sandherr, AGC CEO. “With construction prices low, now is the perfect time for Washington to modernize the nation’s aging transportation, water and building infrastructure.”

source:  http://rermag.com/trends_analysis/headlinenews/construction-employment-may-2010-060410/

Heavy construction equipment is required in all parts of the world. Its demand has increased all the more after the growing economy in the Indian sub-continent, Middle East, Far East and Oriental nations as well.

Countries like China, Singapore, etc. are developing at an exponential rate in the area of infrastructure development. Chinese infrastructure has become so strong in the recent past that even the interior cities and remote areas are also well laid with clean broad roads, buildings, shopping malls, bridges, etc. All this growth has let to increase in the construction equipment sales.

Construction equipment sales had been most in the western regions in the decades of sixties to mid-eighties. But in past twenty years the economical growth in the eastern part of the globe had been exponential. The rise in the middle class and better earning resources has led to the growth of the economy. This growth has called for more development of residential and commercial outlets, etc. The increase in the development of such outlets has led to increase in the construction job works. These job works have adapted to the changing developmental pattern thus construction equipment sales have gathered pace equivocally.

More and more builders and architects have come together and large construction companies have built boulders all along the economical growth. Huge towers, shopping malls, big broad roads, expressways, highways, bridges, flyovers, etc. have led to the increase in construction equipment sales. Since all this development work calls for larger companies to shoulder all kinds of job works, many companies have made strategic partnerships, joint ventures, governmental bodings and alliances with the domestic counterpart for better growth. All these large companies have built up their own construction fleet along with the construction specific manpower.

These construction equipment sales are usually related to the iron and steel prices. Since there have been more excavations for the iron ores and new outlets, iron and steel market has grown at a healthy pace in these developmental decades. The large projects require heavy capital investments. In developing countries the cyclic rotation of capital is more regulated and strategic. Thus the investors are able to opt for large borrowings and generate their own capital for purchase of heavy construction equipments. Thus the heavy equipment sales in these countries are more properly funded and less prone to financial risks.

In case of construction equipment sales pricing is also an important factor. It determines the extent of sales or whether the constructor would prefer to go in for rental equipment. Pricing also acts as a determinant of demand in the market. Demand is led as per the specific country, availability of these equipments in the region, prices of iron and steel, etc. moreover, for the construction equipment sales financing of the purchase of the construction equipment acts as an added advantage and gives a competitive edge in selling the equipments. Financing the purchase leads to increase in the construction equipment sales of the manufacturers.

Thus construction equipment sales are more or less directly dependent on the pricing structure and financing available, as it gets included in the project cost. These sales are more prevalent in the growing economies where more infrastructure developments regularly take place.

source:  http://site-press.com/crane-world/536/the-growing-demand-for-construction-equipment/

DUBAI — Demand for construction machinery in the Middle East is set to soar as the construction industry recovers from the economic downturn and the region forges ahead with major developments.

According to industry experts, there are positive signs of recovery in the Gulf Cooperation Council’s construction industry and there are a number of factors which will drive ongoing demand for machinery.

“As major developers start to repay contractors, they will be able to repay their sub-contractors and suppliers, giving a major boost to the industry as a whole. This will lead to more growth in the sector, and create a renewed demand for construction machinery as new projects get underway,” said UAE Contractors’ Association General Manager Humaid Salem.

Dr Nasser Hamad Al Hajeri, Chairman of Gulf Automobile Industry Corp. said the scale and number of development projects, particularly in Saudi Arabia, will increase demand for construction machinery.

“We are witnessing high demand in Saudi Arabia and Qatar due to the large number of major construction projects there, and demand is also growing in the UAE,” he said.

With more than $1.3 trillion projects on the horizon in the GCC according to the latest data from MEED Projects, manufacturers and suppliers of plant, machinery and construction vehicles will have an excellent opportunity to capitalise on Middle East construction growth when the Big 5 PMV returns to Dubai in November.

Now in its fourth year, the event will take place from November 22 to 25 in The Arena of the Shaikh Saeed Halls at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre as part of Big 5, the Middle East’s largest and most influential construction industry event, organised by dmg World Media.

source:  http://www.khaleejtimes.com/darticlen.asp?xfile=data/business/2010/June/business_June100.xml&section=business

Construction sector іח China report

provide tһе mοѕt relevant business intelligence tο tһе global market. Analysis οf tһе current market situation іח tһе sector аѕ a whole, gives a broad indication οf һοw tһе industry іѕ performing. Delving further, detailed examination οf tһе non-residential аחԁ residential segments іח tһе bіɡɡеѕt Chinese cities offers practical understanding οf tһе construction industry іח one οf tһе world’s Ɩаrɡеѕt markets. Construction sector іח China 2009 аƖѕο profiles tһе Ɩаrɡеѕt construction companies іח China аחԁ forecasts future development іח tһе Chinese construction market up tο 2012.

Tһе report comprises tһе following sections:

Overview οf tһе economy
GDP
Investment
Foreign direct investment
Inflation аחԁ tһе exchange rate

General situation іח tһе construction sector
Characteristics οf tһе construction sector
Construction output
Financial results οf construction companies
Employment аחԁ wages
Construction companies
Business confidence іח construction
Taxes
Tһе cement market
Investing technicalities
Forecast fοr development οf tһе construction sector іח 2009-2012

Infrastructure development
Road network, bridges
Railway network
Airport development
Power generation investments
Pipeline network expansion
Environmental development projects

Non-residential construction
Offices
Hotels
Trade аחԁ service facilities
Industrial аחԁ warehousing facilities

Residential construction
Housing stock
Construction οf housing
Housing prices
Residential construction development programmes

Forecast fοr 2009-2012

Company profiles

Aח essential read fοr:
management аחԁ marketing staff οf companies active іח tһе Chinese construction market
consulting, research аחԁ analysis firms
producers οf building materials, construction technologies providers
financial institutions, including banks, brokerage homes аחԁ investment funds interested іח
investing іח tһе Chinese construction market
government agencies, embassies аחԁ trade organisations.

Tһіѕ report іѕ аח invaluable resource fοr аחу company active іח οr considering entry tο tһе construction industry іח China.

Contact υѕ аt:

Bharat Book Bureau
Tel: 91 22 27578668
Fax: 91 22 27579131
Email: info@bharatbook.com
Website: www.bharatbook.com

source:  http://greenerlivingonline.com/bharatbook-com-comprehensive-overview-of-chinese-construction-market.html

If you’re planning to visit the brand new Bank of America (BOA) building in midtown Manhattan, make sure not to use any Purell before you go. The 8,000 people who work in the crystal-shaped, glass skyscraper at the corner of 42nd St. and Sixth Avenue may not object to the ubiquitous hand sanitizer, but the building itself would. The tower’s air circulation system is equipped with sensors to detect what are known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and a rapidly evaporating substance like Purell is full of them.

You might well think that an office building should mind its business about what kind of hand cleanser you use, but consider that the VOC detectors can also spot volatiles outgassing from synthetic carpets, cubicle partitions, floor cleansers and much of the rest of the chemical soup that often makes breathing office air such a nasty experience. Consider too that a similar carbon dioxide detector can sample the building’s interior atmosphere for CO2 and redirect fresh air to any room or corridor in which too many people are doing too much inhaling and exhaling. That drooping feeling you get midway through a meeting in a crowded conference room may not be caused by boredom, but by too little oxygen circulating in an overpopulated space.

The 55-story BOA building — officially known as 1 Bryant Park — was always going to attract attention even on the crowded Manhattan skyline. At 1,200 ft. tall, it edges out the venerable Chrysler building for the honor of second tallest tower in the city. And its reflective, faceted shape and 255-ft. spire draw eyeballs from almost any angle. But what the building’s owners, architect and developers like to talk about most are its green features, a host of innovations that have made the tower the first commercial high-rise to earn a platinum designation from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program — the official best-in-show judges for environmentally friendly architecture.

At a time when fellow corporate giant BP is struggling to scrub oil from the coastlines of the Gulf of Mexico and Bank of America itself is similarly trying to clean the stain of toxic assets and bailout money from its own damaged name, a mega-building that evokes the ideal of a clean, renewable future seems like both good citizenship and very good PR. It didn’t hurt that Al Gore, the Yoda of all things green, not only attended 1 Bryant Park’s official opening last month but, more significantly, has rented office space there. But how a building is designed to perform is not always the same as how it does perform. Do celebrity tenants and a shiny LEED label really mean as much as they seem, or will an exercise in enormity like the BOA building wind up being more of a feel-good project than a do-good one?

At the new tower’s sidewalk level — the only level from which the overwhelming majority of New Yorkers will ever experience it — its mission is clear in ways big and small. Despite its cool, steel-and-glass face, the handles on all of its street-facing doors are made of white oak, something that’s impossible not to notice the first time you lay your hand on one, particularly if you’re not expecting it. (See the top 10 green ideas of 2009.)

“You don’t just see a building, you touch it,” says 1 Bryant Park’s chief architect Richard Cook, head of the firm Cook+Fox. “We tried to design this one with what we call biophilic — or love of life — principles in mind.”

The landscaped public patio in the tower’s northeast corner carries that theme further, even if the official name of the open space, the “Urban Garden Room,” perhaps takes it too far. The building’s western side is bounded by a breezeway that links 42nd and 43rd Streets, adjacent to the landmarked Henry Miller theater. The theater is part of the building owners’ parcel and has been restored — as well as renamed the Stephen Sondheim Theater — and integrated into the skyscraper’s larger green grid. It’s that grid that is the true test of the building’s environmental cred, and by most measures it’s an impressive thing.

source:  http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1994554,00.html

LOS ANGELES — Believe it or not, LAX and its iconic spider-shaped terminal were once young and vibrant, a futuristic outpost at the edge of the Pacific in the glamorous Jet Age.

After a half-century and millions of travelers, Los Angeles International Airport is on the verge of reclaiming some of its lost luster and gaining a touch of the 21st century — a renovated landmark terminal, shorter check-in times and better restaurants.

“We haven’t given them an experience worthy of a first-class city,” Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said recently,

Painters are putting the finishing touches on the Theme Building’s soaring arches, which were shrouded in scaffolding for three years after a 1,000-pound chunk of stucco fell onto the roof of the flying-saucer-shaped Encounter restaurant below.

The $9 million project to restore and strengthen the structure is one of several projects under way here.

For passengers, the renovations are a long time coming. They ranked LAX, the world’s sixth-busiest airport, near the bottom in a recent survey of U.S. airports, citing crowded old terminals and poor food and retail options.

“This used to look like a Third World airport,” said Steve Judge, after returning from a trip to Mexico.

The city airport department poured in $737 million to upgrade the Tom Bradley International Terminal, which processed 8 million passengers last year but hadn’t had a major overhaul since it opened for the 1984 Olympics.

The changes were sorely needed for a terminal that still buses passengers from the tarmac due to a shortage of gates.

Improvements include a high-tech baggage screening system to eliminate long lines at check-in, new boarding gates to accommodate the next generation of bigger jumbo jets, more efficient baggage carousels, new flooring and art installations.

Upgrades were also made to the food court and arrival area. Instead of walking out of customs to a dimly lit lobby, visitors are greeted by translucent walls that change color. A glowing halo hanging from the ceiling welcomes travelers to the City of Angels.

“It’s friendlier, more airy, more spacious, brighter,” said Claudia Braendle of the renovated terminal, as she waited for a flight home to Zurich, Switzerland. “The check-in process is more efficient.”

The renovation is the first step toward a grander, $1.5 billion construction project to expand the international terminal by a million square feet. The project is so huge that airport planners will have to tear down $100 million worth of recently renovated gates for it.

Airport officials said the two projects were planned separately, and the gate renovations were under way when the expansion project was approved. An engineering analysis found it would be cheaper to demolish the gates and rebuild them farther out than to make additional retrofits and seismic upgrades, said Roger Johnson, executive director for airport development.

Meanwhile, officials are considering new bids to replace some of the fast-food restaurants at domestic terminals with fare from some of the city’s most popular restaurants. They include coffee from the hip LAMILL cafe, Korean barbecue, tacos from the chefs behind the Border Grill restaurants and Italian snacks from chef Nancy Silverton.

Silverton, who started La Brea Bakery, Campanile and Mozza Pizzeria, said she never eats at LAX because of the dismal food options.

“LA isn’t represented in any of the terminals and that’s a shame because we have a lot to offer,” she said. “When visitors are in LA, whether they’re coming or about to leave, their first and last impression of the city is at the airport.”

Completion of the Theme Building’s face-lift should help. The building opened in 1961, when air travel quickly became part of the identity of the burgeoning Pacific Rim metropolis.

The Encounter restaurant serves as a reminder of that period. The elevator ride up to Encounter starts with the theme from the original “Star Trek” television series; Disney “Imagineers” designed the restaurant’s retro interior.

The observation deck above, which was a popular hangout for aviation buffs before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks forced its closure, will soon reopen, with weekend hours and new security measures, an airport spokeswoman said.

“The Theme Building truly is an icon of Los Angeles,” said Linda Dishman, executive director of Los Angeles Conservancy, a historic preservation group. “It symbolizes the promise and futurism of the Jet Age, as well as L.A.’s emergence as a world city in the 1960s.”

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

source:  http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iEYcKJju62Ohp60e54K74bT6V1vgD9G56R3O2