AGC President Larry Gaskins will participate in next week's Economic Forum with President Bush in Waco, Texas. In the plenary session and a smaller meeting beforehand hosted by Treasury Secretary O'Neill, he is expected to describe the major role of construction in the economy (5% of jobs, 8% of GDP) and several steps to enable construction to remain a key player in the recovery. These include: continuation of income and estate tax rate cuts, bonus depreciation and 5-year net operating loss carrybacks; adoption of tax accounting simplification for long-term contracts; enactment of higher infrastructure investment levels for highways, airports, security, energy and environmental programs; and passage of a federal backstop for terrorism insurance.
The producer price index (PPI) fell 0.2%, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Thursday. The "core rate", which excludes energy and food prices, fell 0.3%, the biggest drop in nine months. The story was different for construction, however. BLS stated, "Prices for materials and components for construction increased 0.2% in July, after inching up 0.1% in June. The rising indexes for fabricated structural metal products, softwood lumber, hardwood lumber, nonferrous wire and cable, air conditioning and refrigeration equipment, and plastic construction products more than offset price declines for gypsum products, plywood, millwork, fabricated ferrous wire products, asphalt felts and coatings, and switchgear.