In AGC’s annual survey with FMI, the top risks identified included price increases in materials and equipment, lack of skilled/craft labor as well as lack of field supervisors. While most respondents reported moderately higher or significantly higher backlogs today compared to the end of 2021, 70 percent of them admitted having a low labor force relative to backlog demands. Furthermore, almost 40 percent of survey respondents reported an increase in subcontractor defaults compared to a year ago.

Construction firms added 24,000 employees in February, as hefty pay raises for hourly workers enabled the industry to increase employment more steeply than other sectors, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new government data. Association officials said that while employment levels are now at record levels in the industry, future job gains will be hard given the lack of people who have been exposed to construction career opportunities.

AGC of America and other business groups jointly submitted an amicus brief at the U.S. Supreme Court on March 3 in support of a land developer’s request for review of a Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision that allows citizen enforcement even when the state environmental agency has begun enforcement for a Clean Water Act (CWA) violation.

Engineering News-Record (ENR) Magazine recently wrote a thought-provoking article entitled “Will Claims by Contractors on Big Design-Build Projects Ever End?” Progressive design-build is mentioned as a means to address some of the critiques that design-build faces today. Progressive design-build has attracted increasing usage on larger projects, especially horizontal construction.[i] So is progressive design-build (PDB) as good as a PB&J sandwich with the crusts cut off? And if so, what does that mean for standard form contract language around this approach?

Do you need help managing risk and delivering successful projects in the construction industry? Join us for a ConsensusDocs March 22nd webinar that will explore the key factors contributing to a successful project delivery process and highlight the risk management maxims that can help maximize your project’s chance of success. Register for the March 22nd webinar that will take place at 2 pm EST here https://bit.ly/agc-cd-w23q1. Each registration includes a copy of the recording.