3 percent hike for U.S. construction 
New U.S. construction starts in March increased 3 percent from the month before to a rate of $537.2 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, an information clearinghouse which tracks building trends.

Gains were reported for nonresidential building and non-building construction (public works and utilities), while residential building eased from a robust February.

Construction activity experienced a mild loss of momentum for the first two months of 2004. “The construction industry has been supported for quite some time by the exceptional strength of single-family housing,” said Robert A. Murray, vice president of economic affairs for McGraw-Hill Construction. “In March, single-family housing remained at a very high level, but it was other sectors that provided the upward push to total construction.”

Murray said the increase for nonresidential construction “was not surprising” following that sector’s sluggish performance beginning the year.

Overall, U.S. construction activity during the first three months of this year was up 7 percent compared to the same period a year ago.

Lawmakers need wage education
Federal legislation that would immediately release at least $50 billion in U.S. construction projects is being held up by Republicans lawmakers who don’t want federal prevailing wage rules applied to the projects that would be constructed.

The Construction Labor Report described a conference held last month called the Campaign for Quality Construction, whose members include the National Sheetmetal and Air Conditioning Contractors Association (SMACNA), the National Electrical Contractors Association, the Mechanical Contractors Association and other labor-management groups.

Speakers at the conference explained that there are enormous misconceptions among lawmakers about the federal Davis-Bacon Act, which assures the payment of local prevailing wages to construction workers on federally funded projects. Prevailing wage laws help assure local construction wage levels aren’t undermined by contractors who beat out legitimate contractors for bids by employing underpaid, under-skilled workers.

One association lobbyist snapped her fingers and said infrastructure bills would pass “just like that” without Davis-Bacon rules attached.

“You have a huge education job to do,” a SMACNA lobbyist told contractors preparing to lobby representatives in Congress.

The two biggest misconceptions:

• That prevailing wage means union-only. In fact, said the Construction Labor Report, about 70 percent of all prevailing wage jobs utilize nonunion or mixed union-nonunion workers.
• That prevailing wage drive up the cost of construction. In fact, numerous studies have shown that prevailing wage has virtually no effect on a builder’s bottom line.

Asbestos fund short from the get-go
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported last month that the current proposal to create a $124 billion trust fund to pay claimants injured by asbestos over the next 50 years would come up about $16 billion short.

The CBO report upholds arguments made by Democrats in Congress, who have argued for a larger pool of money to pay claimants.

Creation of the trust fund is still under debate in Congress.