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Heavy-equipment manufacturer Caterpillar Inc. said Friday it will build a parts plant for large mining machines in North Carolina, and it expects to employ about 510 full-time and contract workers in five years.
Construction is scheduled to begin in November on the Winston-Salem factory where workers will machine, assemble, test and paint axle assemblies for large mining machines. Production is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2012. Get the full story »
From Crain’s Chicago Business | AMLI Residential Partners plans to build a 49-story apartment building at Clark and Hubbard Streets in River North. Construction could start next year.
A local architect and developer was charged Monday by the Department of Housing and Urban Development with housing discrimination for designing and building a Chicago apartment building that it alleges does not comply with accessibility requirements.
HUD said Hector Castillo and Hector Castillo Architects Inc. violated the federal Fair Housing Act in the construction of a building at 914 W. Hubbard St. Get the full story »
Caterpillar Inc. reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit Thursday, and raised its full-year outlook, citing continued strong sales growth in emerging markets. The world’s largest maker of construction and mining equipment posted a second-quarter profit of $707 million, or $1.09 a share, up from $371 million, or 60 cents a share, a year earlier. Get the full story »
Home-builder sentiment fell more than expected in July to the lowest level in more than a year after a popular home-buyer tax credit expired in April, the National Association of Home Builders said on Monday.
Industrial distributor W.W. Grainger Inc. posted better-than-expected quarterly results, helped by strong sales growth in the United States and Canada, and raised its outlook for 2010. The company expects full-year earnings of $6.10 to $6.40 a share, excluding special items, on sales growth of 12 percent to 14 percent. Get the full story »
Caterpillar Inc. and Wacker Neuson SE, Munich, Germany said today they will work together on the design, manufacture, sale and support of Caterpillar mini hydraulic excavators in the under three-ton category. Get the full story »
Caterpillar Inc. , the U.S. machinery giant that sells billions of dollars of earth-moving equipment and other products to China each year, said on Saturday it was heartened by China’s move to gradually make the yuan more flexible, saying it would help lift U.S. exports.
“Caterpillar is encouraged by this development,” said Rich Lavin, a group president with the company who is responsible for emerging markets, “and we believe over time that a stronger Chinese currency will promote more exports from the U.S. to China.” Get the full story »
Reuters | U.S. housing starts fell more than expected in May to their lowest
level in five months, a government report showed on Wednesday, as a
popular homebuyer tax credit that had buoyed construction activity over
the past two months expired.
Associated Press | Homebuilders are losing confidence in the housing market now that government incentives that spurred home sales have ended. The National Association of Home Builders said Tuesday that its housing market index fell to 17 in June, sinking five points after two straight months of increases. It was the lowest level since March.
Get the full story: Homebuilders’ confidence sinks rapidly in June.
Walter Arbuckle of Braintree, Vt., looks over Ford F-150s at the Formula Ford dealership in Montpelier, Vt. Pickups are an economic indicator because contractors buy these flatbed trucks to haul everything from tools to landscaping equipment to lumber to build homes. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, file)
Associated Press | If you want a hint about the economic
recovery, follow that truck. Pickups are a kind of rugged indicator of
the nation’s financial health. When times are good, contractors buy
more of them to carry tools around for landscaping and lumber to build
homes. Weekend haulers also gravitate to them even though cars get
better mileage.
And lately sales have started shifting into a higher gear. Americans
bought 151,000 pickups last month, 19 percent more than a year ago.
Sales of full-size pickups, especially popular among contractors and
builders, grew even faster.
(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Associated Press | Construction activity surged in April by the largest amount in nearly a decade. The unexpected gains could mean the hardest-hit sector of the economy is starting to recover.
Construction shot up 2.7 percent last month compared to March, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. It was the biggest one-month improvement since August 2000.
Housing construction jumped by 4.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $263 billion. Home construction has been helped by home buyer tax credits that expired at the end of April. Economists are concerned about the durability of the housing recovery now that the tax credits have expired.
Get the full story: Construction up highest amount in nearly 10 years.
