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HOMEBUILDERS TRY WOOD RECYCLING

More than 10 tons of wood and more than a ton of old corrugated containers (OCC) were recycled as a result of a pilot project coordinated with a Madison, Wis., Parade of Homes event.

The Madison Area Builders Association (MABA), WasteCap Wisconsin and several other organizations worked together to coordinate the project, according to an item in the Associated Recyclers of Wisconsin (AROW) newsletter.

The pilot project took place at the Middleton Hills subdivision, a community that has been dubbed "new urbanist" in style because of its front porches, walking trails and central business district.

The recycling program developed by WasteCap was sponsored by the American Plastics Council/American Chemistry Council, Kohler Co., Miller Brewing Co. and VerHalen Pella Windows.

A series of labeled bins allowed for the collection of 10 tons of wood and 2,700 pounds of OCC at the Middleton Hills building sites.

JULY BRINGS CONSTRUCTION SLOWDOWN

New construction contracts were down considerably in July 2002 compared to last year. The infrastructure category—which includes highways—showed the sharpest decrease with a 16 percent drop.

According to the Dodge Division of McGraw-Hill Construction, most segments of the construction industry lost momentum. The good news is that year-to-date, total construction activity during the first seven months of 2002 is even with 2001’s pace.

"The volume of new construction in July was at the low end of this year’s range, but it’s still consistent with the sense that total construction activity in 2002 is hovering around last year’s average pace," says Robert A. Murray, vice president of economic affairs for McGraw-Hill Construction, New York. He notes an up-and-down pattern throughout the year.
The loss in infrastructure (also known as nonbuilding construction) spending in July was attributed to a decline after June was boosted by the start of several very large projects. Overall, new highway contract values were down 10 percent; sewers, down 24 percent; water supply systems, down 25 percent; and bridges, down 54 percent (from a June that included the start of the $1 billion plus replacement of the San Francisco Bay Bridge).

For the year, public works categories during the first seven months of 2002 continue to show strength, with highways up 6 percent and bridges up 18 percent. "On a year-to-date basis, public works is up 8 percent during 2002, so this sector can still be viewed as moving at a healthy clip. Tighter fiscal conditions at the federal and state levels of government have not yet dampened public works construction in a sustained manner."

The non-residential building sector declined 10 percent in July. Commercial categories were generally weaker, with contracts for new offices down 22 percent; hotels, down 7 percent; and stores, down 2 percent. "Rising office vacancies and uncertainty about the tenuous economic recovery continue to dampen prospects for a construction rebound," says Murray. Manufacturing plant construction in July dropped 38 percent.

Residential building in July dropped 3 percent to $231.6 billion in new construction values. Single family housing posted a 4 percent decline while the smaller multifamily category advanced 3 percent. Despite its decline, single family housing continues to be very strong, as contracting in July stayed 7 percent above the average pace registered in 2001.

"Single family housing has shown some signs of settling back in recent months, but so far the retreat has been very modest," says Murray. "Home buyer demand remains very strong, as depicted by the record pace for new home sales in July, and low mortgage rates continue to outweigh the negatives of diminished consumer confidence and sluggish employment conditions."

By region, residential building in July showed the Northeast gaining a modest 1 percent in new contracts, while the Midwest and South Central remained unchanged, the South Atlantic was down 4 percent and the West was down 6 percent.

Year-to-date across all segments, total construction has performed as follows during the January to July period: the Northeast, up 5 percent; the South Atlantic, up 5 percent; the Midwest, up 2 percent; the West, down 1 percent; and the South Central, down 10 percent.