Dive Brief:

• Sweden-based Skanska Group, one of the world’s largest construction companies, announced it posted $74 million in write-downs in its U.S. construction operations in the third quarter.
• Skanska attributed the losses to client design changes and low productivity on six projects, with the majority of the loss coming from its civil division and the rest from its building division.
• After factoring in the losses, Skanska expects its total operating income for the third quarter of 2015 to be about $111 million, and $678-$739 million for the full year.

Dive Insight:

Skanska, which just last month announced plans to expand its office development operations in the U.S., has also seen its share of difficulties in the country.

The contractor was in the spotlight in June for a high-profile split with Apple midway through construction on the tech giant's new "spaceship" headquarters in Cupertino, CA.

Earlier this month, news broke that Bayonne, NJ’s "Raise the Roadway" bridge project, on which Skanska is a JV partner, is two years behind schedule and over budget. Skanska also has a major role in the maximum bid contract for Boston’s Green Line extension, which has been criticized as driving up the costs on that project by $1 billion.

Construction industry analysts will be keeping a close eye on whether Skanska continues its expansion into the U.S., or whether the disappointing quarterly results will lead the company to take a step back.