Tech Money, Not Government, Is Now Funding the Trades That Build Data Centers
Meta, Google and BlackRock are committing over $265 million to train electricians and other trades for data center construction, a private answer to the labor shortage.
A Concrete Roll-Up Reaches Into Masonry as Material Costs Climb
Oklahoma’s Suncrete bought Arkansas block maker ABC Block, extending a concrete roll-up into masonry as producers consolidate against rising material and logistics costs.
LEED v5 Makes Embodied Carbon a Requirement, Not a Bonus Point
With LEED v4.1 registrations closed, every new LEED project moves to v5, where embodied carbon reduction is now a prerequisite and decarbonization drives half the credits.
Drywall Keeps Sliding While Insulation Won’t Stop Climbing
Interior materials are splitting in two: drywall prices are on a six-month slide while fiberglass insulation is up roughly 19% year over year, complicating bid discipline.
OSHA Hits a Florida Roofer With $349K After Its Seventh Fall Inspection
OSHA cited Florida roofer Orchids Builders for willful and repeat fall-protection violations, proposing $349,754 after the company’s seventh inspection since 2023.
Arrakis Raises $30 Million to Drop AI Agents Into Engineering Workflows
Arrakis raised a $30M Series A to embed AI agents in engineering and construction workflows, part of an energy-heavy week that saw nine contech startups raise money.
New Jersey Orders Up a Big New Reactor and a $15 Billion Bet on Nuclear
New Jersey signed a law directing the state to pursue at least one 1,100-MW advanced nuclear reactor, an estimated $15 billion project aimed at soaring power demand.
A Cold War Uranium Site in Kentucky Will Become a $100 Billion AI Campus
The DOE will lease part of its former Paducah uranium enrichment plant for a $100B AI data center campus from Brookfield and NextEra, paired with 4.6 GW of new power.
Senior-Living Construction Is Stuck at Its Lowest Level Since 2012
Senior-living construction starts have fallen to their lowest level since 2012 as costs, labor, and financing squeeze a sector staring down a demographic wave.
HUD and USDA Pull the 2024 Energy-Code Rule Tied to Federal Home Loans
HUD and USDA rescinded the 2024 rule requiring new FHA- and USDA-financed homes to meet the 2021 energy code, a change builders say cuts $20,000 or more per home.
Nemetschek Closes Its $2.4B HCSS Deal, and Heavy-Civil Software Consolidates
Nemetschek closed its $2.4 billion purchase of Sugar Land’s HCSS, folding heavy-civil estimating and field software into a contech portfolio and accelerating consolidation.
Construction Cost Growth Is Settling Into a Slow, Steady Climb
Rider Levett Bucknall’s Q2 report shows North American construction cost inflation settling near 1% a quarter, with backlog at 8.8 months and wide regional gaps.
Construction Kept Hiring in June, but the Unemployment Line Grew Too
Construction added 11,000 jobs in June and 64,000 over the year, led by nonresidential specialty trades, even as the sector’s unemployment rate ticked up to 4.7%.
A Crawl-Space Death in Texas Brings a Six-Figure OSHA Case
OSHA cited a Texas contractor and a staffing agency for dozens of violations after a worker was crushed by a mini-excavator in an elementary-school crawl space.
Minnesota’s Buy Clean Limits on Concrete and Rebar Are Now Live
Minnesota’s Buy Clean carbon limits for ready-mix concrete and reinforcing steel now apply to state projects advertised on or after July 15, reshaping how contractors spec.
Construction Input Prices Dipped in June, but the Year-Over-Year Sting Stayed
Construction input prices fell 1.1% in June as oil slid, but stayed 7.6% above a year ago. Steel and copper kept climbing, and contractors expect the reprieve to be brief.
Connecticut Breaks Ground on a $1.6B Rebuild of Its Busiest Rail Line
Connecticut broke ground at Stratford on Time-1, the $1.6 billion first phase of a New Haven Line rebuild aimed at cutting 25 minutes off the trip to New York.
Comfort Systems Clears $3B in a Quarter as Backlog Hits $14 Billion
Comfort Systems USA posted record Q2 revenue above $3 billion and a $14 billion backlog, as data centers and chip fabs keep the mechanical contractor’s pipeline full.