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Posts Tagged ‘news’
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009
The debate over whether or not the stimulus package is helping the construction industry (and the overall economy) rages on. About 30 minutes ago, the Associated Press (AP) posted an article, SPIN METER: ‘Help Wanted’ Counting Stimulus Jobs, exploring the reality of new jobs.
According to this article, the new jobs created by the stimulus package only last 35 hours or one work week. Yet, by the state’s accounting, a job is a job whether it last for an hour or a year!
Is a tiny bit of work better than none? Hmmm, not sure about that one.
On the federal level, President Obama says the stimulus package has created 150,000 jobs based on a misused formula. His numbers are murky at best. Sound like the same blurry area we face trying to figure out Google’s new algorithms.
Ten states have launched their own mini stimulus package to create more jobs and nine others have proposed one. This is my favorite quote from the article,
Contractor Deborah Matthews of Pacificmark Construction, based in Milwaukie, Ore., is happy for any work. Her company picked up three contracts for painting, installing a water filter system and refurbishing a maintenance building. Prior to those contracts, which lasted about six weeks, she had laid off nearly all her construction workers. She brought back three full-time and hired a part-time worker.
“It was a little bit,” she said, “to just keep us going.”
I encourage you to read the full article and give your 2 cents. In this economy, is a little bit of work a lot???
Tags: AccuBuild, Associated Press article, construction news, counting stimulus jobs, current events, economy, national, new jobs, news, Pacificmark Construction, Spin Meter, stimulus package, unemployment
Posted in Stimulus Package & Construction | No Comments »
Monday, July 13th, 2009
According to Bloomberg, US commercial construction spending will drop to 16% more in 2009 and 12% in 2010. Unfortunately, this is worse than previously expected.
Last month the AIA (American Institute of Architects) said they expected commercial construction to drop to 11% this year and 5% next year. However; unemployment is still on the rise and companies are still cutting back on spending. Big projects like retail centers, offices and hotels are stalled.
How will we know when things might turn around? Kermit Baker, the institute’s chief economist says when you start seeing shopping centers being built and new office buildings going up, that will be a very good thing! You can read the full article here.
Tags: AIA, bloomberg, commercial construction, economy, finances, industry news, Kermit Baker, news
Posted in construction industry news | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
 Josh Stearns, Mike Stearns, Sr., Gov. Rick Perry, Mike J. Stearns This morning we had a unique opportunity to chat with Texas Governor, Rick Perry, at the Construction Expo where we are participating as exhibitors. Prior to his speech for the Proclamation Ceremony, Gov. Perry spent about ten minutes with us backstage, discussing the pros and cons about living and working in California as opposed to living and working in Texas. We shared the AccuBuild Construction Software story with him and he was genuinely happy to hear it.
Not too long ago, we decided to move AccuBuild’s headquarters to Austin, TX instead of Ontario, CA. We felt the tech industry was thriving in Austin and the opportunities for growth were much bigger. As a family-owned business, that meant our entire family packed up and headed to Texas.
 Josh Stearns and Mike Stearns, Sr. discuss business with Governor Rick Perry During his speech to a large, attentive audience, he mentioned the AccuBuild story by discussing the popularity of “reverse migration” which he described as people moving their families and businesses from CA to TX. Gov. Perry joked that 20% of Americans have relocated to Texas and it isn’t just for the great BBQ, live music and cold beer.
“People aren’t moving to Texas by accident,” he said. “In 2008, only ten states created jobs and Texas created 60% of those jobs. The innovative business climate in Texas is powerful,” he added. He discussed how Austin is managing to thrive even in the struggling economy and used our “1 out of 961 homes in foreclosure” stats as an example.
It is obvious that Gov. Perry is genuinely proud of Texas for making good business decisions and keeping taxes low. Our favorite part of the speech was when he talked about the budget surplus and joked, “they don’t even know what that means in California!”
Tags: AccuBuild construction software, California, Construction Expo central texas, construction industry, economy, events, news, relocating headquarters to Austin, reverse migration, TX
Posted in News & Events | 1 Comment »
Monday, June 29th, 2009
AccuBuild we will be participating in one of the largest construction events in Texas! The Central Texas Construction Expo 2009 will take place at the Palmer Events Center in Austin, June 30th and July1st. In addition to free demos and seminars, attendees can benefit from seeing the latest products, solutions and services geared specifically to professionals in the construction industry. Texas Governor, Ricky Perry, will be addressing the crowd at noon on Tuesday.
AccuBuild Construction Software will be located in booth #308, right near the main entrance. Mike Stearns, Sr., the founder and lead developer will be on-hand to answer questions. As an added bonus, we will be offering special discounts for new customers. If you’re interested in learning more, please click here to see a demo of our product! And if you’re in Austin, stop by and say hello!
Tags: AccuBuild construction software, Austin, conference, Construction Expo central texas, current issues, customers, economy, Governor Perry, news, speaking, special discounts, trade show
Posted in News & Events | No Comments »
Thursday, June 25th, 2009
In an article today in the Washington Post, chief economist at the AIA (American Institute of Architects), Kermit Baker spoke to the current state of the construction industry and when it will start improving. Since architectural firms are still seeing a decline in business, that means the construction industry is still struggling. Yes - I think we all know this.
Baker explains that they are seeing lots of trouble stemming from financing problems. Big projects are being denied. Many architectural firms aren’t exactly losing clients, but projects are being put on hold - indefinitely. Read article here.
The point is the construction industry will start improving, but we need to hit recovery mode first. As always, my advice for construction companies is make the most of this time by focusing your efforts on doing business smarter. Make your day-to-day routine more efficient and figure out how to make your company more profitable. I think investing in construction software is a step in the right direction. If nothing else, take the time to research construction software and see if there’s a good fit for your needs. You might be surprised at how much it can help your business now and give you a competitive advantage when the construction industry does bounce back.
Tags: AccuBuild construction software, AIA, architectural firms, business tips and advice, competitive advantage, construction industry, economy, getting ahead, Josh Stearns, Kermit Baker, news, Washington Post
Posted in construction industry news | No Comments »
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