According to OSHA, the fatal injury rate in construction is higher than the national average for all industries. Sadly, the numbers still aren’t going down. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released its worker injury numbers for 2016, the most recent year available. Unfortunately, the news isn’t good. Workplace fatalities in the U.S. rose 7%, …
Month: January 2018
Diesel, Lumber, And The State Of Staffing – January 30, 2018
National Average Price Per Gallon: $3.070 The International Monetary Fund announced its forecast for world economic growth on Monday. The group predicts growth of 3.9% for both 2018 and 2019. Because increased economic growth means more oil consumption, the announcement pushed crude prices up to $70 per barrel. The United States …
ELD Mandate: The Aftermath
The deadline for the ELD (Electronic Logging Device) mandate for truck drivers passed on December 18, 2017. Truck drivers organized grassroots protests, and industry groups mounted legal challenges. But in the end, no one was able to stop the ELD mandate (which requires truck drivers to electronically log their service hours rather than self-reporting them …
How To Retain & Recruit Construction Workers
Industry optimism is high going into the 2018 construction season. The President has discussed plans for a big funding push for infrastructure, and warehouse construction is set to boom thanks to e-commerce. But a big question remains: ts there enough skilled construction labor to go around? The Construction Labor Shortage Goes On…And On… According to the …
Diesel, Lumber, And The State Of Staffing – January 23, 2018
Diesel News National Average Price Per Gallon: $3.025 According to Majid Jafar, the CEO of Crescent Petroleum, global oil prices could soon “soar” to $80 per barrel. Jafar blames the potential rise in gas prices on falling output in Venezuela. In the U.S. market, the International Energy Agency is predicting a “record-setting” year for energy production. …
Recreational Marijuana In CA – What Hiring Managers Need To Know
Both legal and illegal opioids have had a huge effect on the American labor force. Now another drug is causing confusion for workers, law enforcement, and hiring managers across the country: recreational marijuana. Legal Marijuana In The U.S. Public opinion about marijuana has changed drastically in recent decades. In 1937, the Marijuana Tax Act …
Diesel, Lumber, And The State Of Staffing – January 17, 2018
The weekly changes in the price of diesel and lumber give a quick snapshot into the state of staffing in the construction and distribution industries. Diesel Price Tracker National Average Price Per Gallon: $3.028 Tighter supplies and strong global demand have continued to push oil prices upward. Crude futures have risen by about 13% …
What Caused 2017’s Holiday Shipping Delays?
By most measures, the 2017 holiday shopping season was a big success. After a difficult year for retail, sales jumped 5% between November 1 and December 24 compared to last year. This was the biggest percentage since 2011. And to the surprise of many, only about 11% of those purchases were from online sales. The …
How Will The New Tax Law Affect American Manufacturing?
President Trump signed a massive $1.5 trillion tax bill into law on December 22. One of the promises of the new law was to make America a destination for manufacturing, and to encourage businesses to relocate overseas production back to the United States. So how have these tax changes affected American manufacturing so far? …
Warehouse Construction On Course To Boom In 2018
In 2017, I wrote about how the rise of e-commerce caused a rise in wages for warehouse positions. But the slow decline of brick-and-mortar retail in favor of online shopping is boosting another industry, too. Warehouse construction. Warehouse Boom Moody Analytics predicts that internet retailers are going to need even more industrial space for …