June constructsteel newsletter

Representatives from the UK’s
Centre for Digital Built Britain
(CDBB) will work with the US
National Institute of Building
Sciences (NIBS) to help the US
develop its own national Building
Information Modelling (BIM)
programme. NIBS will work with
CDBB to adapt the UK programme
model and materials as a guide to
developing a US national roadmap
aligned with the international
standard for BIM- ISO19650..

The construction industry
in Australia is expected to
grow by 2.2% in 2021, with
the government’s focus on
infrastructure investment playing
a key role in reviving the country’s
economy. In mid-June 2020, the
government announced that 15
infrastructure projects worth
approximately US$55 billion would
be fast-tracked. Federal, state
and territory governments have
also reached an agreement to cut
approval time for infrastructure
projects by half.

The UK construction industry is
experiencing its fastest rate of
growth for over six years. The IHS Markit Construction PMI Total
Activity Index reached 61.6 in
April, down only fractionally from
March’s six-and-a-half year peak
of 61.7 (any figure above 50.0
indicates an overall expansion
of construction output). It is the
commercial work that is driving
the industry’s resurgence –
the segment achieved an PMI
Index score of 62.2, while civil
engineering had a PMI Index of
61.5 and is currently growing at its
fastest rate since 2014.

The European Academies Science
Advisory Council (EASAC) has
published a report highlighting
the need for an urgent review
of construction methods and
materials. In Decarbonisation
of Buildings: for Climate, Health
and Jobs, EASAC urges EU
policymakers to take action to
ensure the reduction of embodied
carbon in both the construction
and renovation of buildings

Global construction equipment
sales were stronger in 2020 than
had previously been forecast,
due to the spending stimulus
implemented by China as a
reaction to the pandemic and
construction work being deemed
‘essential’ in large parts of the
world. The overall decline was
expected to be approximately 5%,
however, the market grew from
already buoyant levels of 2019 by a
further 30%.

Nigeria’s construction industry is
due to grow by 3.9% in 2021 after
a 7.7% decline in 2020. The fall was
caused by Covid-19 restrictions
and a drop in demand for oil and
gas, which accounts for 65% of
government revenues. Nigeria’s
construction market is due to
increase 3.2% annually between
2022 and 2025, supported by state
investment in the infrastructure
and energy sector.

US President Joe Biden has
pledged to tackle construction
material shortages that
contractors say are driving
up unrecoverable costs and
causing project delays. Looking
at specific product categories,
between April 2020 and April
2021, producer price indices
have risen as follows: lumber
and plywood – 85.7%; steel
mill products – 67%; copper
and brass mill shapes – 49%;
aluminium mill shapes – 20.5%;
plastic construction products
– 14.2%; gypsum products –
12.1%.

Chinese builders have slowed
purchases of steel-based
materials after prices soared
to record highs, but the top
steel-consuming construction
sector is expected to remain
well supported until the rainy
season slows activity from June.
The most-traded contracts for
construction-grade steel rebar
and wire rod on the Shanghai
Futures Exchange have surged
close to 40% this year, and
over 20% since April 1, amid a
stimulus-driven building boom
that has helped lift the Chinese
economy since late 2020.

Construction and civil
engineering company BAM
Nuttall has successfully
completed the UK’s largest
single pour of a new cement-free
concrete. The 300 cubic-metre
continuous pour, which supports
the foundation for a new stepfree
access at a railway station
in Kent, UK, is the first use of
the product, Cemfree, on UK rail
network. Production of Cemfree
reduces carbon emissions
by up to 80% in comparison
to traditional cement-based
concrete.

Spain’s cement consumption grew 53% in March from a year earlier as the construction industry recovered from a COVID-19 lockdown that saw the country grind to a halt in 2020. Cement consumption rose to 1.41 million tons in March, recovering from a slump last year and moving 9.3% above the level recording in March 2019.

Russia’s industry ministry has
held preliminary discussions
with metals producers about
buying their products for the
state stockpile. Moscow has
been keeping a close eye on
rising raw materials costs in
the construction sector as part
of efforts to keep domestic
commodity prices stable even
as they rise at the global level.
The government raised taxes for
metals companies in 2020.

The modular construction
startup Katerra is shutting
down – the company plans
to cut thousands of jobs and
may end up walking away
from construction jobs it was
contracted to build. Company
executive cited the Covid-19
pandemic, along with soaring
labor and construction costs as
reasons for its latest financial
difficulties, however the
company’s record of delivering
on its projects has been patchy,
and the company struggled with
delays and cost overruns.

Gulf Development International
has unveiled plans to build what
is billed as one of the largest
volumetric modular assembly
plants in the world. The project
will take shape within Saudi
Arabia’s $500bn Neom city. The
$1bn factory project is expected
to come up on a 1.4m sqm site
in Neom. Once the facility is
operational, it will be capable of
producing up to 12,500 modular
units per year.

Global technology giant ABB
has announced a formal move
into the construction industry.
The Zurich-based technology
company aims to drive the
uptake of automation and
robotics in a construction
industry – ABB currently has
robotic equipment operating
on a number of pilot projects, including the production of
prefabricated modular homes,
a project which it says has
increased in efficiency by 15%.

Construction management
software company Procore
Technologies has acquired
INDUS.AI, makers of an artificial
intelligence-powered analytics
platform for the construction
industry, for an undisclosed
amount. This move adds
computer vision capabilities to
the Procore platform, which
the company says will help
contractors realise greater
efficiencies, safety, and
profitability.

Builders’ merchant group Travis
Perkins has agreed the sale of its
plumbing & heating distribution
business to a private equity firm
for £325 million. Alongside the
recent demerger of Wickes, the
DIY hardware chain, the sale of
P&H represents the completion
of Travis Perkins’ restructuring
that has been planned since
December 2018.

HeidelbergCement, the world’s
second-largest cement maker,
plans to turn its Swedish factory
in Slite into the world’s first CO2-
neutral cement plant by 2030
via carbon capture technology.
Following the planned retrofit,
which will cost at least $122
million, the plant will be able to
capture up to 1.8 million tonnes
of carbon dioxide per year,
which corresponds to the site’s
total emissions.

Bam Construct is considering
a shift into the residential
market with a modular offering.
The contractor is looking at
how it could capitalise on
what it expects to be strong,
long-term demand in the
residential market. At this
stage it is considering working
with the public sector and
housing associations as
well as potentially alongside
private developers. The firm has traditionally focused on
commercial and public sector
building projects.

Kenoteq has been awarded
almost €1.2 million in funding
from Zero Waste Scotland,
to scale up production of
its eco-friendly K-Briq. The
start-up company, spun out
form Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt
University, says the award – part
of Scotland’s Circular Economy
Investment Fund – will allow it to
produce more than two million
bricks a year. The K-Briq is made
from more than 90% recycled
demolition and construction
waste material, while its
manufacturing process produces
just 10% of the CO2 emissions
of traditionally-fired bricks and
requires 10% of the energy.