Whoa, hey there, curious minds diving into the labyrinth of construction mayhem—grab a hard hat, ’cause today, we’re digging deep into ENR’s mad world of numbers and spikes. First off, gotta give a shoutout to the granddaddy of engineering pubs, Engineering News Record, or ENR for the cool folks. Been brain-bombing us with hardcore data since 1874—say what? That’s older than my grandma’s cookie recipe.
Alright, rewind to the golden days, it kicked off with two old-school mates—Engineer & Surveyor and The Plumber and Sanitary Engineer. Like Voltron, but nerdier, they joined forces culminating in the awesome ENR issue #1 way back on April 5, 1917. Fast-forward through some crazy years, boom—January 1, 1987—ENR pulls off a name spin to just ENR like a pop star dropping the last name. Epic.
Let’s whoosh into the now. ENR pumps out this treasure chest of intricate stats 26 times a year. Honored source of info here, thanks to hours digging through microfiche (who does that anymore?) at the grand New York Public Library. For my fellow geeks, hungrily devour more by pouncing on the ENR site for a deep dive into engineering wonders. Polar express yourself to https://www.enr.com/.
Now, let’s crack open this swirling mess of labor and materials data. The Common Labor Index, ah yes, it’s like a carnival ride kinda. This rollercoaster is up 3.12% from last year (yelp), courtesy of vibes like seasonal quirks and some political spiciness reshaping labor pools. And there’s this groovy red line (gotta love a red line) five-month average correction that sparks interest.
Skill-diggers, eyes up! The Skilled Labor Index kinda ghosted south, but now it’s been throwing a rager, spiraling up 4.36% YoY. Honestly, why the sudden downward and upward drama last year? That’s a mystery better left to someone who didn’t major in wishful thinking.
Stainless steel? Apparently does whatever it wants. Over two years of price nosedive, then up it shoots by 11.71%. You thinking what I’m thinking? Stockpile frenzy? Possibly, eh?
Asphalt and stones raising prices like they’re headlining Coachella. Asphalt swaggers up 52.70%, being all like “Look at me now!” while Crushed Stone follows, like a too-cool opening act.
Crushed Stone’s Base Course sways too, took a nap in Q3 but now woke up caffeinated, skyrocketing by 40.06%. Quite the show!
Now, saddle up for the lightweight concrete block story—pretty chill until the new year when it decided to party harder, up 10.93% over the past year. Spotlight please!
And lastly, mind the steel pipes, not corrugated in the brain, but definitely in the heart of the building world. Corrugated Steel Pipe is gossiping around town, price hiking 46.53%. Ain’t that something?
All credits to ENR’s magical number wizards and Optuma’s impressive charting wizardry. Fancy trying that magic for yourself? Optuma’s got a 30-day trial ready to rock your data-loving socks off at www.optuma.com/TMC. Time to sign off, stay curious, folks! 🛠️✨
