Each Monday, we'll let you know what's coming in the week ahead, including important residential and commercial report releases, as well as our own feature articles.
Waters of the U.S. SCOTUS decision feature article — June 14
Homebuilder groups have been some of the biggest opponents to the Obama administration's expansion of the Waters of the U.S. rule. The National Association of Home Builders and others have objected to the new terms as broad and vague, as they said the new definition could subject ponds, creeks, and ditches on private property to federal oversight and their owners to additional regulatory red tape.
However, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that landowners and developers no longer have to wait until the end of a lengthy Army Corp of Engineers process to dispute a determination of whether their land contains Waters of the U.S under the rule. In our feature article on Tuesday, June 14, we'll talk with legal experts to find out what the Supreme Court ruling means for the construction industry.
Producer Price Index — June 15
The monthly Producer Price Index report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics will be released on Wednesday, June 15. That afternoon, the Associated Builders and Contractors will offer their take on the data, and we'll cover both reports in a combined story. Last month, the BLS reported construction material prices increased 0.5% between March and April but fell 2.9% year over year. April marked the second consecutive month that construction industry inputs in the Producer Price Index increased.
ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu said commodity prices have inched up recently due to "a number of potentially temporary phenomena," such as the weak U.S. dollar. He advised construction professionals to keep in mind that despite the slight price growth, they shouldn't expect prices to continue on an upward path, as economic conditions do not indicate sustained growth is likely for material prices.
Will material prices continue to creep up this month?
Homebuilder confidence report — June 16
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index will be released Thursday, June 16. Last month, the NAHB announced the index remained unchanged once again in May at a score of 58 — the same level as February, March and April.
NAHB Chairman Ed Brady said the consistent nature of the index over the last four months "indicates that the single-family housing sector remains in positive territory." However, he said in a release, "Builders are facing an increasing number of regulations and lot supply constraints."
The builder confidence index will set the tone for the housing market as residential reports for the month roll in after its release.
BIM in Russia feature article — June 16
The use of building information modeling is constantly expanding in the construction industry. A recent report found that the BIM market will reach $11.7 billion by 2022, due largely to rising construction activity and the implementation of BIM mandates.
Russia is one such country launching an aggressive BIM push so that construction companies can reap the benefits of the technology — but with an additional goal in mind. Russia wants its BIM users to become so proficient that the country can become a global BIM leader and export its BIM services to other countries. In our feature article on Thursday, June 16, we'll hear from the director of the department of architecture and city planning activities for the Russian Ministry of Construction and other Russian BIM experts about their expectations for the future of the Russian BIM industry.
Housing starts — June 17
The Commerce Department will release housing starts data for May on Friday, June 17. Last month, the department reported housing starts rose 6.6% in April to a 1.172 million annualized rate. Multifamily saw the strongest gains with a 10.7% surge, while single-family construction also rose 3.3%.
April housing starts surpassed expectations, as economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal forecast a 3.7% rise. Experts said April's strong results represented "a sign the housing recovery could be finding traction after a slow first quarter."
Will Friday's report continue the housing market's positive momentum?
