Presidential candidate poll — Nov. 23

The 2016 presidential race is heating up, as parties start to narrow their candidate fields in preparation for the primary and general elections next year. Most construction industry associations and groups have not yet officially endorsed a presidential candidate, with the exception of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America and the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States, Canada and Australia, which both endorsed Hillary Clinton.

The industry traditionally leans Republican. During the 2012 presidential election cycle, the construction industry overall contributed $124,742,981 to candidates, parties and outside groups — with 72% to Republicans and 28% to Democrats, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

In their efforts to determine the best candidate for the industry, a group including the Associated General Contractors of America, Associated Builders and Contractors, Business-Industry Political Action Committee, National Association of Manufacturers, National Federation of Independent Business and National Retail Federation invited candidates from both parties to address business concerns in a series of conference calls with members. So far, Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush have participated, and Ted Cruz will speak to members in December.

We want to hear from you about which candidates you think would be best for the construction industry, and why. Take the poll here and tell us your thoughts. We'll keep you updated on the results in the following days.

Marketing for construction companies feature article — Nov. 24

Construction equipment giant Caterpillar added an unexpected element of fun with its "Dozer rap" marketing video earlier this month that featured construction workers rapping about their Cat D6N bulldozers. Can other construction-related companies use that campaign as inspiration for other new and innovative marketing tactics?

Construction Dive talked with industry experts to find out how marketing efforts have worked so far, and how they've leveraged social media to reach their audiences. Check back on Tuesday, Nov. 24 to find whether social media and other new marketing tactics have a significant place in the construction industry.

New home sales data — Nov. 25

The Commerce Department will release new home sales data for October on Wednesday, Nov. 25. Last month, the department announced new home sales had plummeted 11.5% between August and September. 

Despite the seemingly serious drop in September's new home sales results, the statistic is often volatile and revised the following month. New homes also account for only about 10% of the total market. Still, the preliminary figures were unexpectedly low and might signal that "a segment of the housing market could be cooling," The Wall Street Journal reported. Economists have attributed the drop in new home sales to "muted" wage gains, which hinder some potential buyers from saving up for a down payment.

So far, housing market reports for this month have been disappointing. Homebuilder confidence unexpectedly fell three points in November to a score of 62, and housing starts slipped 11% to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.06 million units — the lowest rate since March.

Will Wednesday's results continue the string of negative residential reports, or will they offer a positive indicator for the market?