Canadian Housing Starts' 18% March Plunge Surprises Economists

Canada's housing starts plummeted to a 157,000-unit annual rate, when market analysts had expected it to rise to 195,000

April 8, 2014

Canada's residential real estate markets showed signs of a sharp slowdown in the first quarter of the year, with housing starts plummeting in March to around 157,000 at an annual rate, from 191,000 the month before.

February building permits for future construction plunged as well, StatsCan reported Tuesday, falling 11.6 per cent in February from the month before.

The news took market analysts by utter surprise. Most had been expecting an increase in housing starts to around 195,000.

(more on Canada's March housing-starts plunge . . . )

White Cap has also acquired Crimson Steel Supply, LLC (Crimson Steel), a distributor and fabricator of engineered steel rebar and structural steel products serving non-residential and infrastructure end markets.

White Cap Expands Reach in Oklahoma, Oregon

White Cap has acquired Bend Construction - a supplier of struts, fasteners, anchors, and concrete accessories and products - and Crimson Steel - a distributor and fabricator of engineered steel rebar and structural steel products.

The Port of Baltimore is used by many of the largest construction machinery manufacturers.

Construction Supply Chain and the Baltimore Bridge Collapse

How much will construction and other supply chains be impacted by the collapse of the Baltimore Bridge and the suspension of traffic through the Port of Baltimore? End users may temporarily face delays and increases.

Emerging technologies and advancements including visual intelligence, sensors, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, robotics, immersive collaboration and 3D printing are surging in popularity among contractors and construction professionals.

Construction Trends for 2024

While the industry will continue to go through transformation like many others, those willing to marry the fundamentals of the craft with new technology and sustainable building methods can continue to experience great success in 2024 and beyond.

Reputable sellers, UCC searches, and ensuring all paperwork is accounted for are all good practices to follow.

Buying Used Concrete Equipment? Beware of Hidden Liens

There's an uncommon-but-real issue that could crop up when buying any type of used equipment, and that’s buying equipment that unknowingly has a lien on it.

Shortly after its origin, the Cary-Lift product line was acquired by Pettibone, and it remains a popular solution for pipe, pole, and log handling to this day.

Pettibone Celebrates 75th Anniversary of Cary-Lift

Pettibone announced that it is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the creation of the Cary-Lift.

Terry Harris began his career in the concrete industry in 1979 and has more than four decades of experience with ready mixed concrete, precast, masonry, and admixtures.

Concrete Industry Veteran Earns Leadership Award

National Ready Mixed Concrete Association established the Shydlowski-Turner Materials Leadership Award to honor an individual who, as a materials supplier to the ready mixed concrete industry, exemplifies leadership, commitment, and support for industry.

Unicontrol and Level Best, united in their commitment to driving innovation and efficiency in the construction industry, aim to push the boundaries of construction technology, setting new benchmarks for excellence as the industry becomes increasingly receptive to these advancements.

Unicontrol to Integrate 3D Tech With Level Best Equipment

By integrating Unicontrol's 3D machine control system with Level Best's precision grading equipment, this partnership aims to raise standards in machinery efficiency and usability.

The electric-powered excavator can be charged rapidly using the PowerTree.

DEUTZ Highlights Eco-friendly Parts, Software

The company will showcase the TCD 3.9 engine in the sub-4 liter category along with an electric excavator, powered by DEUTZ Electric System, and the DEUTZ PowerTree mobile rapid charging system at INTERMAT.

Gerrit Marx.

CNH Names CEO

Gerrit Marx will succeed Scott Wine as of July 1.

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Deere, Purdy Search for Chief Tractor Officer

To apply, candidates must submit a short-form video with their pitch for the position, showing the creativity, humor, and passion they’d bring to the job.

White Cap has also acquired Crimson Steel Supply, LLC (Crimson Steel), a distributor and fabricator of engineered steel rebar and structural steel products serving non-residential and infrastructure end markets.

White Cap Expands Reach in Oklahoma, Oregon

White Cap has acquired Bend Construction - a supplier of struts, fasteners, anchors, and concrete accessories and products - and Crimson Steel - a distributor and fabricator of engineered steel rebar and structural steel products.

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Designing an Effective Hiring Process

Getting the right people on your team is critical to the sustainability of your business. High turnover rates or underperforming team members can have a detrimental impact on your business and profitability.

Kemp Tour 2

Club Car Opens UTV Factory in US

Club Car has opened a new factory in the state of Georgia that will be used for producing popular utility task vehicles (UTVs) that are powered electrically.

Changing Colors: Yanmar Turns to Red

As part of the company's shift in market approach, execs explain the strategy behind the brand's 2020 departure from conventional yellow machine livery to today's Premium Red.

Located in Apodaca, a city in the Monterrey metropolitan area, the site was strategically selected to supply OEM customers with products and services such as tire mounting, sequencing, just-in-time supply and warehousing on a local basis.

OTR to Open Factory in Mexico

Located in Apodaca, a city in the Monterrey metropolitan area, the site was strategically selected to supply OEM customers with products and services such as tire mounting, sequencing, just-in-time supply and warehousing on a local basis.

The new facility, focused on high complexity and high variation specialty fifth wheel manufacturing, will include the current SAF-HOLLAND Wylie, Texas operation.

SAF-HOLLAND to Build New Factory in Texas

The new Rowlett facility is the next phase of the SAF-HOLLAND manufacturing optimization and vertical integration strategy to increase capacity output that began with the opening of its Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico plant in August 2023.

Volvo Ce Pioneers E Shuttle Service To Cut Transport Emissions 660d7bf383081

Volvo Construction Testing Out Excavator Delivery in France With E-shuttle

The e-shuttle service is designed to reduce emissions during the first transport leg of construction machines from the Volvo CE factory in France.

Compared to the strong sales of the same period last year, market demand is softening across the globe, with lower deliveries and order intake in Europe and North America compensated slightly by a stronger performance in Asia.

Volvo CE Reports Slow Q1 Sales, Orders

Overall, order intake for the Volvo brand decreased in line with market development in Europe and North America.

Canadian-based tech company Mercator AI has announced it is expanding into the U.S., starting with Texas.

Construction AI Tool Expands to US

Mercator AI, the AI-powered business development tool for commercial general contractors, announced its expansion into Texas.

Tenna

Tenna, Boom & Bucket Partner on Integration for Equipment Valuations

The strategic partnership and integration aims to enhance a construction business’ ability to manage the lifecycle of their owned fleet.

Preliminary net trailer orders decreased nominally from February to March.

Trailer Orders Down 24% YoY

Industry experts expect truck trailer orders to face a year of transition.

Fires. Tornadoes. Water damage. All of these disasters, and other unexpected events, often lead to large property losses that can devastate businesses.

3 Tips for Managing Economic Risks on Construction Projects

While you can’t eliminate risk entirely, you can take steps to help reduce it, avoid it and protect against it.

Worker safety is an area where confirmation bias can have the most disastrous effects, exposing workers all types of potential dangers.

Overcoming Confirmation Bias in Construction Project Management

Confirmation bias can be particularly problematic in project and schedule management, where decisions must be based on accurate and comprehensive information.

The awards will be presented at the 2024 ASCC Annual Conference scheduled to take place Sept. 18–21.

ASCC Opens Annual International Decorative Concrete Council Awards Program

The Sixteenth Annual International Decorative Concrete Council Awards program for 2024 recognizes and celebrates exceptional decorative concrete projects from around the globe.

Specific details regarding the actual price change will be communicated directly to customers by Trelleborg tires representatives in each market.

Trelleborg Tires to Implement Price Increases

Trelleborg tires will increase prices globally by up to 5% across all segments.

When a prospective site can be made suitable for building by extending utilities (such as water, electricity or gas lines) or infrastructure (such as paving or rail services), funding may be available to offset these costs.

Jobsite Due Diligence Can Prevent Costly Delays

Good building sites remain on the market. But many of those sites must be made good with early planning and intervention.

Progress included the removal of a 156-ton piece of Span 19 outside of the navigational channel, which was hoisted and loaded onto a barge and taken to Sparrows Point, Md., for future disposal.

Baltimore Crews Remove 156-ton Piece of Key Bridge

Progress included the removal of a 156-ton piece of Span 19 outside of the navigational channel, which was hoisted and loaded onto a barge for future disposal. Container removal from Dali has begun.