Total construction starts in the final month of 2019 dropped 21% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $800.4 billion. The sharp decline was largely a response to hefty gains posted in November’s utility and manufacturing sectors. When removing the influence of these two very volatile sectors, total construction starts only fell 3% in December.

Without warning, an under-construction structure in the southern United States suffered a catastrophic collapse. The tragedy resulted in the death of several people. As a result, engineering and construction post-collapse forensics experts engaged in an 18-month investigation.

The U.S. commercial real estate market will see prudent expansion in 2020, according to a new survey of North American brokers and industry analysts. The survey, conducted by Transwestern and Devencore Ltd., found that medical office leasing will be higher than in 2019 and will outpace leasing in the general office and industrial markets.

During the slow winter months, we enter tradeshow season. And while sending your crew to a trade show may seem too expensive, it’s actually an investment in your business and way to ensure it will continue to grow. Here are 10 reasons to attend tradeshows in 2020 and beyond.

Having recently passed the final filing deadline for employee benefit plan audits, it is an appropriate time for construction firms to consider how to improve processes to avoid the same headaches again next year. From identifying who on your staff is eligible to participate to evaluating service providers, several factors need to be assessed.

Construction business coach George Hedley is tired of hearing contractors say they can’t find any good or trained help. When all they do is complain about their problems, they’ve decided to be negative and not develop positive solutions to their problems, he says. In his opinion, it takes money and a pro-active plan to recruit good people to work for your company.

CraftJack, a contractor lead service, surveyed 1,609 contractors and 652 consumers, asking them to rank 32 contractor job types based on how difficult they are to master and to perform. Contractors and consumers seemed to mostly agree on the hardest jobs. 

Join us in Las Vegas, March 23-26, 2020 for the 2020 CISCA Convention and INTEX. Registration is now open and there is a special CISCA rate for lodging. For additional questions, call CISCA at 630-584-1919 or email cisca@cisca.org.

The Ceilings and Interior Systems Construction Association (CISCA) invites applications for their Construction Excellence Awards competition. Award winners will be recognized at the dinner on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 during the CISCA Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. The awards ceremony features a multi-media presentation of all submissions and winning projects. Winners will be featured in the Acoustical Interior Construction magazine and on the CISCA website.

CISCA is the global premier authority for the interior construction, acoustical ceilings and acoustical treatment industry. Market your products/services to the multi-billion dollar interior systems industry today.