In the Media

The CAWV's mission includes communicating with the public on the impact the construction industry has on the economy. We accomplish this goal by writing and submitting editorials, hosting media events, participating in the release of various studies and purchasing advertising.

	01/15/2013
	Lackluster construction outlook predicted By Cecelia Mason January 14, 2013 · The outlook for the construction industry looks like it’s improving somewhat according to a new survey by the Associated General Contractors of America but in West Virginia the industry continues to be relatively flat. During a telephone news conference, the Association's Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Sandherr, said more construction firms are planning to add staff than layoff. The Associated General Contractors of America surveyed more than 1,300 firms in 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico and nine percent plan layoffs while 31 percent plan to hire more workers. “However the scope of these additions is likely to be modest with 79 percent of firms reporting that they plan to hire 15 or fewer people and only 13 percent planning to hire more than 25 new workers in the new year,”Sandherr said. The Contractors Association of West Virginia has 475 member firms. Mike Clowser, executive director, said the construction industry has taken a hit in recent years. “West Virginia’s construction employment in November 2012 was 36,000 West Virginians. That is down 11 percent from its peak in August of 2006,” Clowser said. “Total construction dropped 33 percent from nearly three billion in 2009 to two billion in 2011.” Clowser said the construction industry continues to shed jobs and the West Virginia companies that responded to the survey indicate they expect the number of job opportunities to remain at about the same level this year as last year. According to Clowser the number of construction projects paid for by the private sector remains flat. The construction industry is heavily dependent on federal and state spending for highways and Congress just extended the federal aid highway bill through October 2014. “Those numbers and available dollars are basically flat and are projected to stay flat,” Clowser said. “Our state highway program which is mostly made up of gasoline taxes and other user fees; those are remaining flat and are actually stagnant.” Clowser said unless more money becomes available, fewer roads and bridges will be repaired and not as many new ones will be built. But he pointed out that Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has put together a blue ribbon panel to come up with solutions to the problem of paying for highway projects. Two other areas the construction industry depends on are water and sewer systems and schools. Clowser said Congress has failed so far to renew the Federal Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act, which pay for many water and sewer projects. But Clowser said money from the state Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council and Water Development Authority and local fees have remained available for some projects. The Eastern Panhandle was hit hard by the downturn in the housing market, which offered a lot of construction jobs between 2000 and 2005. David Hartley, executive officer for the Eastern Panhandle Homebuilder’sAssociation, said the housing market seems to be picking up a bit. “We’ve seen permits increase, in Berkeley County for example permits were up in 2012 40 percent from the previous year so that’s been a positive sign,” Hartley said. “We have a long way to go but are encouraged that prices look like they’re starting to improve also that inventory is going down so that you see the mix of things start to show signs of improvement for the housing market specifically.” Hartley predicted the housing market will gradually improve this year. Homebuilder’s Association President Greg Janes owns a contracting business and said he’s getting more calls from people interested in remodeling or building new houses. Janes said if the construction industry picks up, it will lift the rest of the economy. “If we get to the point where we’re starting to build roads, residential housing or commercial, our economy picks up,” Janes said. “Every house that’s built creates three jobs in our industry, three full time jobs.” Janes pointed out that bigger construction projects like office buildings, schools and roads could create even more jobs.

	12/29/2012
	*CAWV ON WV DIVISION OF HIGHWAYS “WV ON THE DOT”* “WV On the DOT,” a weekly radio show that features speakers, facts and activities relating to the West Virginia Division of Highways, broadcasts every Saturday at 9 a.m. on WCHS Radio 58 in Charleston. WV Secretary of Transportation Paul Mattox joins Randy Damron and Brent Walker of WVDOH’s Communications Division to highlight highway and transportation issues. CAWV Executive Director Mike Clowser joined in on the December 29, 2012 broadcast to discuss highway funding, the close working relationship between the WVDOH and the CAWV, the association’s “Hard at Work” campaign, among other industry issues. To listen to the broadcast, click here

	11/06/2012
	The CAWV promoted the construction industry on WV Radio stations / WV MetroNews during Election Night coverage.

	08/14/2012 MARCELLUS WILL SOON BE THE BIGGEST PRODUCER Shale gas is an encouraging spot in West Virginia's economic picture For the past four years or more, the national economy has struggled. The answer from Washington, D.C., is record deficit spending, which has not brought significant job gains. The answer from Washington, Pa., and thousands of other towns scattered across Appalachia is Marcellus shale gas, which is leading to royalties for landowners, cheap energy for consumers and jobs for the construction industry. A few facts: · In April 2011, Marcellus wells in Pennsylvania and West Virginia produced 3.6 billion cubic feet of gas a day. · By last month, that average had more than doubled to 7.4 billion cubic feet a day. · Marcellus shale now accounts for 25 percent of shale gas production in the nation. · Marcellus shale will soon surpass the Haynesville region in Arkansas and Texas as the No. 1 field. · The wholesale price of gas dropped to $3 per thousand cubic feet. In Japan and Europe, the price is $12 or more. · Shale gas production is responsible for 600,000 jobs nationally. · By 2035, that figure is expected to hit 1 million. · Construction jobs in West Virginia rose from 34,100 to 36,700 over the past year after dropping by 1 percent over the previous three years. "A lot of our members are working in the Marcellus shale industry," said Mike Clowser, executive director of the Contractors Association of West Virginia. "Water and sewer contractors are putting in lines, highway contractors are putting in roads, aggregate suppliers are supplying stone to these projects. "We are seeing a pretty good market for our membership that are now working in the oil and gas industry that were not involved in this process five years ago. As such, our members have been able to stay pretty busy." That should continue as the cheap energy and raw material from the gas attracts new businesses to the state. (Appeared in August 14 Charleston Daily Mail).

	08/04/2012
	CONSTRUCTION BOOSTED BY GAS DRILLING BOOM In recent months, the Marcellus Shale boom has saved the region's construction industry, a Charleston construction company owner said last week. "Thank God for that," said John Strickland, president of Maynard C. Smith Construction, referring to the natural gas reserves in the Marcellus Shale formation that extends throughout most of West Virginia in addition to Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and other eastern states. "It has put our pipeline contractors to work, our road building contractors to work. That huge private sector has saved our cookies." Nationwide, the number of construction jobs has dropped in nearly half of the 337 metropolitan areas from June 2011 to June 2012 included in a report released last week by the Associated General Contractors of America. But construction employment increased in 127 of those metro areas -- including West Virginia overall and the Charleston metro area. West Virginia's construction employment increased from 34,100 in June 2011 to 36,700 jobs in June 2012. Until this year's boost in construction jobs in the state, West Virginia's construction employment had dropped 19 percent during the three years prior. Mike Clowser, executive director of the Contractors Association of West Virginia, said quite a few of the new construction jobs are in the Marcellus Shale industry, especially in the Mountain State. "A lot of our members are working in the Marcellus Shale industry. Water and sewer contractors are putting in lines, highway contractors are putting in roads, aggregate suppliers are supplying stone to these projects," Clowser said. "We are seeing a pretty good market for our membership that are now working in the oil and gas industry that were not involved in this process five years ago. As such, our members have been able to stay pretty busy." Shale gas production supported more than 600,000 jobs in 2010, according to "The Economic and Employment Contributions of Shale Gas in the United States," a report by IHS Global Insight. People employed in the shale gas industry will increase by 1 million by 2035, according to the report. Mark Grigsby, president of Pray Construction, said the Marcellus boom has sent West Virginia workers from his Scott Depot company to complete construction projects in Ohio and Pennsylvania. As a secondary supplier to the natural gas industry, Pray Construction employees are building support structures, he said. "At least 30 percent of our work volume is tied to the natural gas industry," Grigsby said. "That industry has continued to develop the last several years and we have followed them in the marketplace." Construction spending rose to a two-and-a-half year high in June 2012, according to new federal data released last week by the AGCA. Five of the 11 private nonresidential categories in the Census Bureau's monthly construction spending report saw double-digit percentage gains in spending from June 2011 to June 2012, said Ken Simonson, Associated General Contractors of America's chief economist. Power and energy construction (including oil and gas-related projects) had the largest percentage gain in construction spending from June 2011 to June 2012 with a 26.5 percent increase, according to the AGCA spending report. Lodging had the next biggest percentage gain at 26.3 percent followed by manufacturing at 19 percent; educational at 18.8 percent; and transportation at 17.1 percent. West Virginia may have the highest hope in private nonresidential construction since spending is up 14 percent, construction economist Simonson said. "With the fracking in West Virginia and neighboring part of Ohio and Pennsylvania and interest in the chemical companies to put in ethane crackers ... nonresidential could benefit," Simonson said. "I think that's going to provide multiple benefits to construction and other industries in West Virginia." Drilling wells is considered a mining job, Simonson said, but construction workers are leveling roads and building storage structures, which is adding new jobs in the industry. Pray Construction has hired new staff in the last year, Grigsby said. Administrative support staff, a project manager, and construction workers have been hired to join the nearly 60 seasonal employees at Pray Construction, he said. "Our work has not fallen off. We have experienced nothing but increased volume for the past several years," Grigsby said. The statewide increase in construction jobs is "very positive news that has been well received," in the industry, Grigsby said. However, Strickland said although he has hired new construction workers at his Charleston business in the past year, the volume of projects is decreasing. The Charleston metro area saw only a 2 percent increase in construction employment during the past year. While the area -- which includes Kanawha, Putnam, Boone, Clay and Lincoln counties -- did see job growth, the increase is much smaller than last year's 15 percent increase in construction employment, the fifth-highest jump in the nation in 2011. Industry leaders said last year the 2,300 jobs created in 2011 -- compared to just 300 in the Charleston metro area one year later -- was fueled mostly by publicly funded projects, such as schools, bridge repairs and replacements, water and sewer lines and Yeager Airport renovations. Many of those projects have since wrapped up, Strickland said. "In 2011, there was so much demand and so much work and we participated in that. Now that demand has been somewhat faded and we need to move on," Strickland said. "Last year it just seemed like there was a lot of work to bid...the double edge sword was the work dried up." Strickland said federal funding -- such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 -- "was a great idea to kill two birds with one stone" but that money is now gone and so are most of the jobs that it created. Cutbacks in spending on the public and private levels have resulted in reduced construction projects, Clowser said. AGCA officials said the nearly 50 percent decline in construction jobs nationwide is a result of the public sector continuing to cut back on investments and slow economic growth. Clowser said there is a direct correlation between the continuing decline in construction jobs and the economy. "That is a direct result of the economy and if we do not have new investments in construction projects, obviously we are not going to use many construction workers for the work," Clowser said. "We've seen other industries have a recession but the construction industry nationwide has been in a depression. When you invest in infrastructure, not only are you improving the quality of life for all West Virginians, you're creating hundreds of high paying construction jobs." (Appeared in August 4 WV Gazette) CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- In recent months, the Marcellus Shale boom has saved the region's construction industry, a Charleston construction company owner said last week. "Thank God for that," said John Strickland, president of Maynard C. Smith Construction, referring to the natural gas reserves in the Marcellus Shale formation that extends throughout most of West Virginia in addition to Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and other eastern states. "It has put our pipeline contractors to work, our road building contractors to work. That huge private sector has saved our cookies." Nationwide, the number of construction jobs has dropped in nearly half of the 337 metropolitan areas from June 2011 to June 2012 included in a report released last week by the Associated General Contractors of America. But construction employment increased in 127 of those metro areas -- including West Virginia overall and the Charleston metro area. West Virginia's construction employment increased from 34,100 in June 2011 to 36,700 jobs in June 2012. Until this year's boost in construction jobs in the state, West Virginia's construction employment had dropped 19 percent during the three years prior. Mike Clowser, executive director of the Contractors Association of West Virginia, said quite a few of the new construction jobs are in the Marcellus Shale industry, especially in the Mountain State. "A lot of our members are working in the Marcellus Shale industry. Water and sewer contractors are putting in lines, highway contractors are putting in roads, aggregate suppliers are supplying stone to these projects," Clowser said. "We are seeing a pretty good market for our membership that are now working in the oil and gas industry that were not involved in this process five years ago. As such, our members have been able to stay pretty busy." Shale gas production supported more than 600,000 jobs in 2010, according to "The Economic and Employment Contributions of Shale Gas in the United States," a report by IHS Global Insight. People employed in the shale gas industry will increase by 1 million by 2035, according to the report. Mark Grigsby, president of Pray Construction, said the Marcellus boom has sent West Virginia workers from his Scott Depot company to complete construction projects in Ohio and Pennsylvania. As a secondary supplier to the natural gas industry, Pray Construction employees are building support structures, he said. "At least 30 percent of our work volume is tied to the natural gas industry," Grigsby said. "That industry has continued to develop the last several years and we have followed them in the marketplace." Construction spending rose to a two-and-a-half year high in June 2012, according to new federal data released last week by the AGCA. Five of the 11 private nonresidential categories in the Census Bureau's monthly construction spending report saw double-digit percentage gains in spending from June 2011 to June 2012, said Ken Simonson, Associated General Contractors of America's chief economist. Power and energy construction (including oil and gas-related projects) had the largest percentage gain in construction spending from June 2011 to June 2012 with a 26.5 percent increase, according to the AGCA spending report. Lodging had the next biggest percentage gain at 26.3 percent followed by manufacturing at 19 percent; educational at 18.8 percent; and transportation at 17.1 percent. West Virginia may have the highest hope in private nonresidential construction since spending is up 14 percent, construction economist Simonson said. "With the fracking in West Virginia and neighboring part of Ohio and Pennsylvania and interest in the chemical companies to put in ethane crackers ... nonresidential could benefit," Simonson said. "I think that's going to provide multiple benefits to construction and other industries in West Virginia." Drilling wells is considered a mining job, Simonson said, but construction workers are leveling roads and building storage structures, which is adding new jobs in the industry. Pray Construction has hired new staff in the last year, Grigsby said. Administrative support staff, a project manager, and construction workers have been hired to join the nearly 60 seasonal employees at Pray Construction, he said. "Our work has not fallen off. We have experienced nothing but increased volume for the past several years," Grigsby said. The statewide increase in construction jobs is "very positive news that has been well received," in the industry, Grigsby said. However, Strickland said although he has hired new construction workers at his Charleston business in the past year, the volume of projects is decreasing. The Charleston metro area saw only a 2 percent increase in construction employment during the past year. While the area -- which includes Kanawha, Putnam, Boone, Clay and Lincoln counties -- did see job growth, the increase is much smaller than last year's 15 percent increase in construction employment, the fifth-highest jump in the nation in 2011. Industry leaders said last year the 2,300 jobs created in 2011 -- compared to just 300 in the Charleston metro area one year later -- was fueled mostly by publicly funded projects, such as schools, bridge repairs and replacements, water and sewer lines and Yeager Airport renovations. Many of those projects have since wrapped up, Strickland said. "In 2011, there was so much demand and so much work and we participated in that. Now that demand has been somewhat faded and we need to move on," Strickland said. "Last year it just seemed like there was a lot of work to bid...the double edge sword was the work dried up." Strickland said federal funding -- such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 -- "was a great idea to kill two birds with one stone" but that money is now gone and so are most of the jobs that it created. Cutbacks in spending on the public and private levels have resulted in reduced construction projects, Clowser said. AGCA officials said the nearly 50 percent decline in construction jobs nationwide is a result of the public sector continuing to cut back on investments and slow economic growth. Clowser said there is a direct correlation between the continuing decline in construction jobs and the economy. "That is a direct result of the economy and if we do not have new investments in construction projects, obviously we are not going to use many construction workers for the work," Clowser said. "We've seen other industries have a recession but the construction industry nationwide has been in a depression. When you invest in infrastructure, not only are you improving the quality of life for all West Virginians, you're creating hundreds of high paying construction jobs." Reach Megan Workman at megan.work...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5113.
	WVDOH, FHWA, CAWV PROMOTE WORK ZONE SAFETY
	“No worker should have to worry about safety,” Josh Booth, Highway Safety, Huntington, told reporters and camera crews at a press conference held on May 2. “Building safe and modern roads and bridges increases the safety of the traveling public, but more construction means more exposure for construction workers on the roadways.” Booth told listeners to slow down, put their cell phones down and pay attention. The annual press conference is held throughout the nation to promote work zone safety. This year’s message is “Don’t Barrel Through Work Zones.” Booth, who has been clipped by passing vehicles several times, joined Rick Hazelwood, a WVDOH maintenance employee who was struck by a vehicle in 2009. Hazelwood shared his story of being hit by a distracted driver as a reminder to drivers of the consequence of inattention in work zones. WV Department of Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox reminded the group that starting July 1, texting while driving will become a primary offense. FHWA Division Administrator Tom Smith shared national statistics regarding work zone incidents. Mike Baylous, representing the State Police, noted that speeding in work zones results in high fines. Bob Tipton, Director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety said, “Our mission is to reduce accidents and injuries on the state’s roads and work zone safety is part of the puzzle.” Both Hazelwood’s and Booth’s messages are available on WVDOT’s YouTube channel. CAWV Executive Director Mike Clowser and Tipton joined together to film a safety message for “On the DOT,” the division’s television show. For more information on the press conference, click here to see a Charleston Daily Mail article, or here to view the WV Gazette article. The story was picked up by the Associated Press and ran on most radio and TV stations.

	05/05/2012
	FEDERAL ROAD FUNDS 'CRITICAL' FOR W.VA. As Congress prepares to debate a highways bill this week, the executive director of the Contractors Association of West Virginia believes a long-term bill to guarantee federal highway funds is critical to the state's future. "The number one priority in Congress should be to create jobs, to improve road safety and to promote economic development," Clowser said Friday. Federal funds provide the majority of money used to build and maintain the nation's roads and highways. "On Sunday, it will be 949 days since the last highway bill expired. We have not had a true highway bill since Sept. 30, 2009," Clowser said. "We are working on the ninth or tenth temporary extension. Members of my association are getting so frustrated. This affects our companies and their ability to hire people. The number of road projects the state Division of Highways put out for bids is down 15 percent from last March."

	03/09/2012
	YOUNG CONTRACTORS COMPETE IN CANSTRUCTION The CAWV Young Contractors participated in the 2012 Canstruction competition which is hosted by the American Institute of Architects - WV Chapter and Covenant House. The group has built a Stop/Slow Paddle and two traffic barrels titled, “STOP Hunger.” The 10 foot tall sign includes nearly 2,000 cans of food and represents our commitment to support our community and its fight against hunger. Coverage of the event appeared in the WV Gazette (click here to view).


	01/13/2012
	TRANSPORTATION DAY AT THE WEST VIRGINIA CAPITOL SHINES SPOTLIGHT ON HIGHWAY INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING Nearly 200 CAWV members and West Virginians for Better Transportation coalition partners flooded the State Capitol and both the House of Delegate and Senate chambers on Thursday, January 12. The group all wore reflective vests making the message of “Roads = Jobs” visible to lawmakers. The hearing was covered by a variety of news outlets. Highways chief floats road bond issue (Charleston Daily Mail 1/13/2012) State may look to voters for road funds (Charleston Gazette 1/12/2012) W.Va. lawmakers weigh $1B bond for road needs (The Associated Press 1/12/2012) DOT Leader Asks for $1 Billion Bond (WV MetroNews 1/13/2012) WV lawmakers weigh $1B bond for road needs (State Journal 1/13/2012) WV Legislature recognizes Transportation Day (WOWK TV 1/12/2012)

	09/01/2011
	*TRIP REPORT RANKS WV ROADS 7th WORSE IN THE NATION* According to a recent TRIP report, in 2008, 27 percent of the state’s major rural roads were rated in poor condition, the seventh highest rate in the U.S. An additional 50 percent of major rural roads were rated in mediocre or fair condition. In 2010, 14 percent of West Virginia’s rural bridges were rated as structurally deficient, the seventeenth highest rate in the nation. An additional 21 percent of the state’s rural bridges were functionally obsolete. The full report, “Rural Connections: Challenges and Opportunities in America’s Heartland,” is available online using the link above.

	08/30/2011
	*AGC JOINS CAWV TO RELEASE NATIONWIDE JOBS DATA - CHARLESTON MSA RANKED 5TH HIGHEST GROWTH* AGC of America came to Charleston on Tuesday to hold a press conference releasing nationwide Metropolitian Statistical Area jobs data. CAWV President Gene Thompson, Ahern, a division of Kokosing, South Charleston, lead a press conference held at the new West Side Elementary School. Project general contractor Mike Davis, vice president of G&G Builders, Inc., Scott Depot, took reporters on a tour of the school. “Charleston is adding new construction jobs faster than virtually every other metro area as the local industry grew by 15 percent between July 2010 and July 2011,” said President Thompson. “One of the main reasons construction employment is growing in Charleston is because of the public sector investments that are being made at the local, state and federal levels.” CAWV and AGC were joined by Charleston Mayor Danny Jones and School Building Authority Executive Director Dr. Mark Manchin, who discussed the nearly $200 million being spent on school construction in the area and how it impacts the economy. “Every one dollar invested in construction results in three dollars spent in the economy,” Dr. Manchin said. The story was covered by all the major Charleston TV news stations including WCHS TV, WOWK TV, WSAZ TV, The Charleston Gazette and Charleston Daily Mail. To view the press release, click here. Use the following links to view the new construction employment figures by state or by rank.

For additional information contact Lindsay Stephens at (304) 342-1166 or lstephens@cawv.org