from Mark Smith, Advocate, California Builders Alliance
The American Institute of Architects' Architecture Billings Index dropped to 43.8 in January, down from 47.1 in December, indicating a slow start to the year. New project inquiries also declined. "Overall economic conditions remain subdued," says AIA Chief Economist Richard Branch. "Construction employment was a bright spot, adding 33,000 jobs, including 25,000 in nonresidential specialty trades, signaling a positive shift after stagnant growth last year."
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Full Story: The Architect's Newspaper |
U.S. economic growth slowed sharply at end of 2025, dragging down the year
The U.S. economy cooled sharply at the end of 2025, with growth slowing to an annual rate of 1.4 percent, as tariffs and a weeks-long government shutdown sapped its earlier momentum.
Overall, the economy expanded by 2.2 percent last year, lower than the 2.8 percent growth the year before, according to new datafrom the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The latest gross domestic product report — which sums up the goods and services produced in the United States — reflects rising imports and a widening trade gap, despite President Donald Trump’s push to revive U.S. manufacturing. Federal spending also fell sharply, in part, because of the longest government shutdown in history, which began Oct. 1, 2025, and lasted 43 days.
The producer price index for materials and services used in nonresidential construction increased 3.3% from December 2024 to December 2025, driven by double-digit price increases for aluminum, steel and copper, according to the Associated General Contractors of America. AGC attributes the increases to tariffs that have enabled domestic producers to raise prices, with aluminum prices rising 30.5%, steel 17% and copper 11.8%.
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Full Story: AZ Big Media (Phoenix) |
Fatal crashes in construction work zones increased more than 30% from 2012 to 2023, with 568 deaths in 514 crashes last year, according to a report from the Center for Construction Research and Training. Although overall transportation-related deaths and injuries have remained steady, the fatality rate has decreased to 2.1 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers. Specialty trade contractors accounted for most of the incidents, with Texas and Florida reporting the highest numbers of deaths.
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Full Story: Safety + Health |
Demand for outpatient medical buildings is rising as demographic and economic trends shift health care delivery away from hospitals, according to CBRE and JLL. Driven by an aging population and changes in federal policy, outpatient volumes are expected to increase by 8% over the next five years, compared to just 1% for inpatient volumes. The average cost of medical office building fit-outs is $412 per square foot, with labor as a primary cost driver, prompting more renovations and conversions over new construction.
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Full Story: Construction Dive |
Two members of Congress have introduced bipartisan legislation that would direct more federal transportation funding to local governments by amending funding programs, prioritizing the nation's most deficient bridges, increasing the flexibility of the Surface Transportation Block Grant program and boosting the Highway Safety Improvement Program. The bill comes as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act approaches its September expiration.
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Full Story: Roads & Bridges |
The Department of Homeland Security funding lapse continues, with no resolution in sight as lawmakers remain at odds over immigration enforcement. The impasse puts $32 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency at risk, although the National Low Income Housing Coalition says FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund has enough to cover near-term disasters.
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Full Story: Engineering News-Record (tiered subscription model) |
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has announced an executive order to accelerate new nuclear plant development "so we can increase our electricity supply and secure our energy future." The move builds on legislation enacted in January that lifted the state's moratorium on large-scale reactor construction. Pritzker also proposed pausing new data center tax incentives for two years beginning July 1 amid concerns over higher energy costs.
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Full Story: WMAQ-TV (Chicago) Yahoo/Bloomberg |
Visual intelligence is emerging as a significant advancement in construction technology, bridging the gap between digital data and physical job site conditions. This technology, powered by spatial AI, organizes and interprets visual data from images, videos and drones, providing a continuously updated visual record of projects. This approach enhances decision-making, identifies productivity issues earlier and reduces costs, while requiring human expertise to validate AI outputs.
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Full Story: Engineering News-Record (tiered subscription model) |
In the concrete industry, AI is gaining traction as a tool to handle operational tasks such as estimating, job costing and project documentation, allowing contractors to focus on core business activities. AI cannot replace human judgment or relationship-building, but it can free up time for strategic decision-making and relationship management. KP Reddy of Cumulus Digital Systems suggests that contractors start by using AI for their most time-consuming operational tasks to improve efficiency without losing focus on fundamentals.
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Full Story: For Construction Pros |
The Federal Highway Administration has proposed stricter Buy America rules for electric vehicle chargers funded by federal money, requiring 100% US-made content, up from 55%. The Department of Transportation says the move would support domestic manufacturing, enhance national security and prevent taxpayer dollars from benefiting foreign adversaries. Public feedback is being sought before a final rule is issued.
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Full Story: Future Transport-News (Devon, UK) |
The Environmental Protection Agency's repeal of its 2009 endangerment finding--which designated greenhouse gases as harmful pollutants subject to Clean Air Act regulation--faces legal challenges and creates uncertainty for construction firms navigating emissions reduction projects amid potentially conflicting federal, state, and local requirements. The decision could eventually impact emissions regulations for buildings and industrial facilities beyond vehicles, forcing contractors to contend with a patchwork of discordant state-by-state policies while major construction clients continue pursuing international climate commitments and ESG requirements.
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Full Story: Engineering News-Record (tiered subscription model) |
AECOM has partnered with TomTom to integrate the latter's live traffic data into infrastructure planning, aiming to improve safety and efficiency. The partnership will allow the use of TomTom's Traffic Stats, Origin Destination Analysis, Historic Traffic Volumes, Route Monitoring, Live Traffic and Junction Analytics. The collaboration comes as AECOM predicts a strong infrastructure cycle in 2026, despite a slowdown in federal award activity during last year's government shutdown.
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Full Story: Construction Dive |
Designers Yan Zhang and Jialu Hou have created PaveLink, an autonomous modular road-building system that arrives as a single electric train and deploys into a fleet of AI-guided construction robots. The system includes a drone for mapping terrain and four distinct units for different construction tasks, all powered by electric cables. PaveLink aims to simplify road construction in remote or disaster-hit areas, reducing the need for multiple machines and operators.
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Full Story: Yanko Design |
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The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority's Claremont extension of the Metro A Line in California is expected to generate substantial economic benefits, according to a report by Kleinhenz Economics. The 2.3-mile light rail project will generate $1.13 billion in economic output, support more than 4,700 jobs and generate more than $481 million in labor income during construction. Once operational, the extension is expected to generate nearly $460 million in economic output and support 1,200 jobs annually.
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The Nevada Department of Transportation has awarded Granite Construction a preconstruction contract for widening Interstate 80 widening between Vista Boulevard and USA Parkway. To begin in late 2027, the project will add a lane in each direction, widen shoulders and improve interchanges. NDOT expects the project to reduce crash rates by 20%.
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Full Story: KOLO-TV (Reno, Nev.) |
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Mark Smith
Advocate
California Builders Alliance
5370 Elvas Avenue ǀ Sacramento, CA 95819
Cell: 916.335.5072
Email: mark.smith@calbuilders.org
Email: mark@smithpolicygroup.com
