Strip Out Data Centers and Commercial Planning Is Down 16.2%
The Dodge Momentum Index jumped 6.9% in July to 291.7, but Dodge concedes the commercial segment would be down 16.2% year over year without data centers.
Illinois Found Out From Its Contractors That a $1.2 Billion Job Had Stopped
The Army Corps stop-worked the $1.2 billion Brandon Road carp barrier on July 24 without notifying Congress or Illinois. All four Great Lakes Task Force co-chairs objected.
Carrier Decided Building Decarbonization Services Weren’t Worth Owning
LS Power’s OPTERRA closed its purchase of NORESCO from Carrier on August 3, creating a 750-person ESCO serving 19,000 facilities as federal efficiency aid shrinks.
A Worker Was Buried at 12 Feet. The Trench Box Was Already In.
MIOSHA published a 15-incident catalog of the injuries its inspectors keep responding to, including a cave-in that buried a worker beneath an installed trench box.
Construction Added 1,000 Jobs in July. Job-Switcher Pay Hit a Record.
ADP says construction added just 1,000 jobs in July while pay for construction workers who switch employers hit an all-time high, driven by data center demand.
Owens Corning Warns of Another $40 Million in Input Costs This Quarter
The largest U.S. shingle and residential insulation maker guided Q3 margins down to 20–22% and flagged $40 million of incremental input cost from the Iran conflict.
The Stopgap on the Table Would Cut Passenger Rail 83%
Senate Republicans failed to agree on a stopgap that extends Highway Trust Fund programs but drops IIJA advance appropriations, cutting transit 20% and rail 83%.
Jacobs Says AI Build-Out Is Now 11% of Its Net Revenue
Jacobs posted record $28.9B backlog on 35% revenue growth, quantified AI build-out at 11% of adjusted net revenue, and warned a lot of the pipeline is speculative.
Bentley Hit $1.54 Billion in Recurring Revenue and Booked Zero AI Dollars
Bentley Systems grew ARR 12% to $1.536 billion in Q2, but its CEO says AI capabilities are live on customer projects with value it intends to monetize “in due course.”
Tutor Perini Just Had the Best Quarter of Its 132-Year History
Tutor Perini posted record Q2 revenue and operating income, raised its dividend 50%, and said its bid pipeline now tops $200 billion — three times two years ago.
Construction Wage Growth Went From 0.0% to 1.5% in One Quarter
BLS Employment Cost Index data released July 31 shows construction wages rose 1.5% in Q2 after a flat first quarter, the sharpest among major industries.
8,400 Cubic Yards in Under 16 Hours, 40 Feet Below a Barrier Island
Coastal Construction placed an 8,400-cubic-yard mat foundation in under 16 hours, 40 feet below grade under a planned 62-story Sunny Isles Beach tower.
Construction Job Openings Hit 305,000 While Spending Fell. Both Are True.
June JOLTS data showed 305,000 open construction jobs, up 36% year over year, released a day after a report showing construction spending fell 3.2%.
We Energies Put 385 MW of Wisconsin Solar, Wind and Storage Into Construction
We Energies announced August 4 that three Wisconsin renewable projects totaling 385 MW are under construction, supporting more than 450 union-first jobs.
Attackers Hit 30-Plus Water Systems at Once, and OT Security Became a Design Spec
FBI and CISA warned July 30 that attackers reached PLCs at water systems in seven states, pushing OT security into capital project scope.
The Largest U.S. Building Materials Dealer Just Guided to $390 Lumber
Builders FirstSource posted a Q2 net loss with 2.7% commodity deflation and cut its outlook, assuming lumber averages just $390 to $410 per thousand board feet.
Three Contractors, One Roof, One Fall: Cal/OSHA Cited All of Them for $282,420
Cal/OSHA cited three LA County roofing contractors a combined $282,420 after a 24-foot fatal fall, holding each responsible for the same crew on one roof.
Reclamation Put Dam Protection at the Center of the Post-2026 Colorado River Rules
Reclamation named its preferred post-2026 Colorado River alternative on July 31, built around keeping Glen Canyon and Hoover above their infrastructure limits.