August 23, 2007

INDUSTRY ACCESS*

Sale of Home Depot Unit in Doubt

A $10.3 billion deal to sell Home Depot Inc.'s wholesale supply division may fall apart after three investment banks showed reluctance to finance the sale even under new terms, the Financial Times reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the negotiations. Full Story

Click here for more Industry Access news including recent new hires, merger & acquisition activity and who's offering new products.

* DHI Members may submit news releases to be considered for inclusion in DHI's IndustryWatch. Send to: jmadden@dhi.org.

BUSINESS UPDATE

Up slightly from the 59.3 mark in June, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) in July reached the second highest mark since the survey’s inception in 1995. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI shows an approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the July ABI rating was 60.0 (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings), and inquiries for new projects was 66.2. Full Story

The July Producer Price Index for Wood Doors (flush & panel, interior & exterior) was up 0.2% from 2006 and the Other Wood Doors (Incl. garage, screen, storm, etc.) PPI was up 2.3% compared to a year earlier. Compared to June, the unadjusted June PPI was down 0.4% for Wood Doors while the PPI for Other Wood Doors was up 1.0%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The PPI for Metal Doors, Sash & Trim was up 0.4% from June and up 2.6% from a year ago. Click here to view the full July Producer Price Index report. (PDF file - Wood Door information is on page 12 and Metal Door data is on page 17)

The risks to construction from the subprime mortgage market collapse are growing, but still appear to be containable. However, it is not yet certain that it will be contained with minimal damage to contractors and their suppliers. Reed Construction Data is slightly marking down the construction spending forecast for the rest of this year, primarily in housing. Full Story

The Green Globes commercial building rating system and its local residential variant, the Keystone Green Building Initiative (GBI), offer builders a cheaper and easier, but some say less well known and verifiable, way of certifying the green-ness of their construction. The Philadelphia Business Journal takes a look at the system. Full Story

San Francisco Bay Area developers are increasingly building environmentally sustainable structures, but in the process are running up against some of the limitations of the leading green certification system. City planning authorities in San Francisco offer priority permitting for construction projects registered with the U.S. Green Building Council's certification system, known as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED. But industry insiders say the process can be expensive, time consuming and, perhaps most worrisome in the progressive Bay Area, out of touch with the most recent environmental building practices, reported Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal. Full Story

Although Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification (LEED) is a growing trend in other industries, sustainable building leaders say the 24-hour and high energy nature of health care make the standards difficult to meet in that field. Instead of using the stringent standards, local health care organizations are finding other ways to build environment-friendly facilities until the LEED guide for health care is released at the end of 2007 or early 2008, reported The Business Journal of Milwaukee. Full Story

APPA, the association dedicated to leadership in educational facilities, has announced the first credentialing standard for the educational facilities profession. The Educational Facilities Professional (EFP) credential was developed in response to APPA members’ demand as a way to validate the unique knowledge and competence required of an accomplished professional in the field, reported Facilitiesnet. Full Story

CONSTRUCTION & DESIGN

Nonresidential building in July dropped 23% to $195.4 billion (annual rate). In June, contracting had surged 27% with the help of five massive projects valued each in excess of $500 million, while the largest nonresidential projects in July were two office buildings valued each at $200 million, reported Construction.com. Full Story

Two major real estate developers announced a joint venture to invest $2.5 billion to redevelop 93 properties in the Washington, DC area. The venture of JBG Cos. and MacFarlane Partners, called JBG Urban, plans to develop offices, hotels, retail and residences, mostly near Metrorail stations. Their plans call for redeveloping 8.5 million sq. ft. of office space, 2.2 million sq. ft. of retail space, 13,200 apartments and condominiums and 2,500 hotel rooms. Full Story

The New York City market will consume $24.6 billion in construction spending in 2007, according to the New York Building Congress, topping recent levels that only cracked $20 billion in recent years, reported Construction.com. Full Story

A new paper Cost of Green Revisited: Reexamining the Feasibility and Cost Impact of Sustainable Design in the Light of Increased Market Adoption provides an updated look at the cost of green by examining a larger sampling of buildings and looking at additional building types. Full Story (PDF file)

SECURITY & SAFETY

Virginia Tech's internal review of the campus massacre recommended more monitoring of troubled students, classroom locks and other security measures, reported USA Today. The university's security committee recommended instructing students on what to do in emergencies; installing interior locks on 157 general assignment classrooms; removing "drop bar" door handles that can be chained, and possibly installing electronic key card access to academic and administrative buildings. Full Story Click here to read the full report. (26-page PDF file)

Polled about their organization's approaches to identity and access management, audit and compliance professionals in industry and government expressed a high level of frustration with how their IT and business management units are managing IAM. Almost half (45%) of the 845 respondents questioned by the Ponemon Institute for the research study said their own organization does not effectively focus its IAM policies and controls on areas of business risk. The compliance professionals, 68% of whom said IAM products were in use in their organizations, also expressed frustration that IT and business management groups weren't collaborating well in deploying IAM, reported Access Control & Security Systems. Full Story

One of the best ways to protect a large building or facility from the deadly spread of fire is the installation, inspection, and maintenance of smoke and fire dampers, sprinkler systems and smoke alarms. Unfortunately, for the exception of hospitals that have the inspection of fire and smoke dampers enforced by groups such as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), many facilities do not have their dampers inspected every 4 years as required by NFPA 90A, reported Buildings.com. Full Story

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

The U.S. House of Representative approved the Green Jobs Act of 2007, legislation introduced by Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis (D-CA) to help train American workers for jobs in the renewable energy and energy-efficiency industries. The Green Jobs Act (H.R. 2847) authorizes up to $125 million in funding to establish national and state job training programs, administered by the U.S. Department of Labor, to help address job shortages that are impairing growth in green industries, such as energy efficient buildings and construction, renewable electric power, energy efficient vehicles, and biofuels development. It also helps to identify and track the new jobs and skills needed to grow the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries. Among other things, this effort would link research and development in the green industry to job standards and training curricula, reported Environmental Design & Construction. Full Story

SMALL BUSINESS NEWS

Small Business news will resume its updates when Congress returns to session in September.

DHI's Jerry Heppes sits on the board of the Small Business Legislative Council. If you'd like more information on these or other issues affecting small businesses, feel free to contact him at jheppes@dhi.org.

DHI NEWS

Space is FILLING FAST for DHI’s 32nd Annual Conference and Exposition, October 13 – 20, 2007 in Nashville, TN!
Make Your Plans TODAY!

PRE-REGISTRATION CLOSES SEPTEMBER 14, 2007! Make sure you reserve your spot for this industry event TODAY!

Take Advantage of DHI’s Full Conference Package!
For only $245 member/ $345 non-member, you will receive access to the Conference and Exposition activities PLUS select Thursday DHI Education Sessions including:

Aftermarket Sales & Building Renovations [ELT500]
How to Develop & Retain Customers [ELT510]
Professional Sales [COR165]
Understanding and Using Construction Documents [COR103]
Writing Electrified Hardware System Specifications [EHC415]

Class sizes are limited, so call TODAY to reserve your spot!

This is YOUR industry and YOUR event! As a leader in Life Safety and Security you can’t afford to miss monumental industry event featuring the launch of the Annual Fire Door Assembly Inspection Program (AFDAIP), the debut of the AFDAIP business model at the Forum for the Future and the most expansive DHI course offerings in one location!

Go to www.dhi.org/annual/Attendees/Nash_AttRegistration.html or call DHI directly at 703-222-2010 to get registered for this exciting event!

HOUSING UPDATE! The Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, the Radisson Hotel at Opryland and the Hyatt Place Opryland ARE FULL! Space is still available at Embassy Suites Nashville-Airport and Holiday Inn Select Hotel/Opryland/Airport. Go online to www.dhi.org/annual/Attendees/Nash_AttHousing.html for more information. Contact the Housing Bureau directly at 866-578-8809, Monday – Friday from 9:00am through 8:00pm EST to make your reservations