MCAA Regional Report, Region B

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

ALABAMA
The apprenticeship program is very weak. There are only two companies in the top Northern and Central part of the state that have an apprenticeship program operating. These programs are being done in house by each individual company.

Northwest Florida and the Southern tip of the state have a number of companies participating in their apprenticeship program.

FLORIDA
We have 320 apprentices in 15 registered programs and 1072 students in 31 pre-apprentice programs in the state. Eight of the pre-apprentice programs are adult programs in the Department of Corrections system. There are 139 participating employers who have signed up. The State of Florida has budgeted moneys to recruit and train workers in safety and other employability skills specific to individual construction trades.

GEORGIA
The Masonry Association of Georgia has moved into a new apprenticeship training center in Decatur, Georgia. Capacity has almost tripled with this move and by fall of 2006, we anticipate being at 80% capacity. This spring, we are at about 60% capacity.

We are again working with the Construction Education Foundation of Georgia Career Expo in April 2006. About 2,000 students are anticipated to come through on this two day event that is held in conjuction with the Skills USA Competition.

KENTUCKY
The workforce development situation has returned to better form. Our apprentice classes are full. The most important issue for stable labor growth in our area is the proper use of the growing Spanish population. The Spanish population is entrenched all across our state. They work on our buildings, houses, pick our tabacco, work with our horses, serve our fast food, etc. They are in virtually every service sector of labor. No longer a transient workforce, many are working for firms as employees rather than contract labor. Language barriers are being broken and creative ideas have arisen to make use of this workforce.

MISSISSIPPI
No State Chair.

NORTH CAROLINA
NCMCA will participate with other Carolina masonry trade associations in the Annual NC Skills USA State Conference in April, which includes regional and state masonry competitions for high school masonry students. About 100 students are expected to participate. After the contest, masonry association representatives will visit winners' schools to present thousands of dollars in awards at end-of-school awards nights and assemblies. The Annual NCMCA Apprentice Masonry Skills Contest is May 20, 2006 at Adams Products Company in Fayetteville. Thousands of dollars in prizes will be awarded and the winner will claim the "David R. Sigmon" trophy for high score.

SOUTH CAROLINA
Training has taken a backseat for a few years. The vocational schools continue to provide the most training. The only problem being reliant on the vocational schools is that more and more schools are deleting masonry from their curriculum. On a positive note, we have seen an increase in the interest in masonry as a career option. We have received several requests for participation in career days and offers to speak to high school students. Skills challenges are showcasing the work of the mason and they are getting some positive results. The infusing of the Hispanic workforce has taken care of any shortfall in masons. Language is becoming less of an obstacle in dealing with the Hispanic workforce. Bi-lingual superintendents are more available and bridge the language gap.

TENNESSEE
Negotiations to start soon with BAC Local #5 Tennessee with the total area having contracts through spring of 2006, Middle Tennessee is the only area that still has several Contractors signatory as an Association.

Local #5-BAC and JATC is interviewing a new apprentice class March 20, and 21. There are currently a total Apprentices in the1st, 2nd, and 3rd year classes. We have a full time instructor that is jointly paid by the Union and the JATC. So far this arrangement has worked fine.

VIRGINIA
No report as of this writing.

ECONOMIC CLIMATE, MARKET EXPANSION & INITIATIVES FROM COMPETITIVE PRODUCTS

ALABAMA
The market conditions in Alabama presently are better than they have been in many years. The automotive business is still bringing new business to the area creating jobs opportunity and other economic growth.

The Healthcare industry is growing in all parts of the state. Extended care living is also on the rise again.

The retail market is about the same as last year. Still growing but not booming. Most of this is occurring in the open air mall construction.

Institutional construction is still booming all across the state. The next years look very good with what is currently on the boards.

Work on the Alabama coast is finally back to normal after the hurricanes. This is going to put a tremendous amount of pressure on the labor market for the whole state.

FLORIDA
Construction remains strong. No letdown is in sight unless there is a leveling off in residential building.

GEORGIA
The overall construction market in Georgia has leveled off from 3d quarter 2005. Residential has been flat as has school work. Condominium work has increased as has hospital work. The office building market continues to remain down. Many large office buildings in the metro Atlanta area have substantial square footage to lease. Those that are being leased are seeing 15% to 20% decrease in rates.

KENTUCKY
The economic outlook for 2006 is positive. Housing is down a small percentage across the state but brick is still the dominate choice. The private sector shows signs of being above 2005. Our local state government is about ready to pass the budget and it is full of bricks/blocks projects. Local architectural firms are reporting high activity and have a positive outlook for 2006. In regards to the local economy our unemployment rate has held steady and our top 10 major employers ( U.P.S. / Ford/ Humana/ etc.) are all bullish except for Ford.

MISSISSIPPI
No state chair.

NORTH CAROLINA
The construction market in the Carolinas has remained steady with conditions very good in most sections of the state. Masonry continues to lose market share to competing systems, however. The loss of residential basement construction to pre-cast and poured-inplace systems is extreme in some areas of we state.

SOUTH CAROLINA
Work in South Carolina has picked up over the last six months. Work is available but is still competitive. Most all of the areas of the state have new projects and the local architects are busy. Several of the big box stores, such as Target, are in a major building campaign. The support stores that go with the big boxes are also being built. This work is becoming more competitive along with extremely short construction cycles. We are beginning to see unit price contractors providing masons to this sector of work. This is not good for the Jump sum contractors.

Resort work 4 still going strong. The Myrtle Beach and Charleston areas are still building at a record pace. There has been a big increase in high end condo construction. Much of this work is brick and some stone work. Residential and condo construction are spurring commercial work. Grocery stores and retail stores complement the residential.

One of the largest segments of the masonry work that is available is in the construction of hospitals. Hospital construction is being performed all over the state. Most of them are still using masonry on the exterior skin. New work as well as additions to existing hospitals is on going. We are seeing many satellite hospitals being built in smaller makes.

The school market in the state is still going strong. Many of the school districts are building additional schools to support the growing population. The older schools are being remodeled and brought up to date. The markets in most of the areas of the state except Greenville are staying with conventional built masonry construction.

We are beginning to see some continued pressure on wages. It is becoming more costly to keep and find project managers as well as estimators. Jobsite labor cost as well is going up.

TENNESSEE
Work statewide is still fairly strong. All areas of the state, East, Middle and West are all above average busy, although it is not being reflected in their pricing. There is some slowing in certain type of work, but overall things are still good. Friends in the architectural community are reporting more work than they can handle. There has been a surge in Industrial work in our area after a long drought.

VIRGINIA
No report as of this writing.

MASONRY MARKETING ACTIVITIES

ALABAMA
North west Florida and the Southern tip of the state have a number of companies participating in their apprenticeship program.

FLORIDA
CMU producers are doing special marketing programs for single and multifamily housing.

GEORGIA
The Georgia Concrete Products Association has developed an off shoot called the Georgia Masonry Institute. They are developing radio spots for a marketing program across the state.

Brick Southeast continues its marketing effort. Though they are headquartered in Charlotte, they still have a branch office in metro Atlanta. Some changes in personnel have been made in Atlanta to streamline and refocus the brick masonry marketing effort.

KENTUCKY
Our promotional arm of masonry Kentuckiana Masonry Institute continues to give masonry a face through our annual awards program, educational credit programs for local architects, scholarship support for our collegiate architectural programs and a host of other activities. Our local suppliers and manufactures continue to give great support and fund many radio ads through the BIA and Southern Brick Alliance. Brick has and continues to be the material of choice on our homes in Louisville. Our first masonry village competition was met with great success and support and looks to be a semiannual event.

MISSISSIPPI
No state chair.

NORTH CAROLINA
NCMCA partnered with Brick Southeast and the Carolinas Concrete Masonry Association to exhibit at the North Carolina School Board Association Annual Conference last Fall. Vocational masonry education and masonry school design were the emphasis of the display. NCMCA's Raleigh Chapter partnered with the Carolinas Concrete Masonry Association to present a total-masonry-construction workshop for school designers, planners and administrators in November. Featured speakers were Texas architect Chris Huckabee and Pennsylvania School Superintendent Dr. Don Bell. NCMCA will continue to be a major supporter of the MasonrySystems.org initiative and will incorporate that promotion into our own website and promotional activities. (Thanks to Oldcastle/NC for the major contribution designated for updating MasonrySystems.org!)

SOUTH CAROLINA
Did not include this section in their report.

TENNESSEE
The latest surge from competitive products is coming from Insulated Concrete Forms. There are a couple of schools that are going to try I.C.F., with an alternate to use traditional masonry backup system. Reasons given are cost effectiveness and scheduling restraints. Lick-N-Stick stone is starting to take a portion of the brick veneer we are used to seeing. We have built several projects where the stone was at least 25% of the veneer makeup. With steel prices surging again we have become equally as competitive with steel studs and sheathing. We hope to regain some of our market share back while materials are so expensive.

The Masonry Institute of Tennessee has been very busy in the architectural community. MIT offers a minimum of 4 Certification courses each year. MIT's masonry online course is up and running, allowing busy professionals to get continuing education credits while shuffling their busy schedules. Our membership has grown by some 25%. MIT is currently courting several universities' construction management students.

VIRGINIA
No report as of this writing.

COMPETITOR/TRENDS

ALABAMA
There are very few actual Masonry contractors left in Alabama. Most of the Masonry contractors are labor subcontractors working for a Masonry contractor. It has become more of a broker business for most of the Masonry contractors. This is very likely to affect the overall quality of the workmanship as we proceed into the future.

FLORIDA
Tilt-up remains strong with precast and brick clad precast panels gaining ground in some areas. Factory manufactured housing is gaining, but primarily at the expense of doublewides and frame houses.

GEORGIA
Did not include this section in their report.

KENTUCKY
The private market is starting to see some of our traditional office veneer work go the way of tilt-up. Office building developers have taken a page from the massive warehouse/distribution designs and are putting up cheaper tilt-up shells for two/three story office complexes and still getting their office square foot pricing. They are hideous compared to our traditional brick/stone veneers but they are getting clients to move in. It is a concern in this area.

MISSISSIPPI
No state chair.

NORTH CAROLINA
NCMCA membership numbers are generally "flat," however recruitment efforts continue. The NCMCA Annual Convention is April 28-30, 2006 in Myrtle Beach. Featured speakers are Lee Wheat of Whole Wheat Creative, Houston, and Tony Darkangelo, Marketing Director of the Masonry Institute of Michigan. The convention will also see the "roll-out" of NCMCA's new Certification Program for Masonry Contractors, probably the most important initiative ever undertaken by NCMCA. Ann Wolter is serving the Association's certification committee as consultant and will be at the convention for the presentation. MCAA's new Governmental Affairs Director, Jessica J. Bennett is scheduled to address the convention. New officers for the twoyear term 2006-2008 will be elected and installed at the convention.

SOUTH CAROLINA
During the last six months, OSHA has hired additional manpower. They appear to be competent in the inspection of masonry. We are seeing a willingness to improve overall jobsite safety. OSHA inspections continue to spotlight fall protection. Daily scaffold checklist as well as daily toolbox meetings to talk about scaffold are the norm. Competent persons trained in scaffold building are being checked to see if their certificates are current. On the larger projects and those being built by the larger GC's, we are being pushed into providing on-site safety personnel. This will increase the cost of performing masonry.

We are seeing the use of outside consultants looking over the building envelope. These consultants are working with each of the players to ensure that all parts of the envelope work together and prohibit water intrusion into the building.

Most GC's have shifted all wall bracing to the subcontractors. The Wall Bracing Manual is a great tool to use as we brace our walls.

TENNESSEE
In Tennesse the TOSHA inspection rate depends on which are of the state you are located. Eastern TOSHA visits almost every Commercial job site of any size; while Middle and West inspections are down from previous years. Inspectors are looking hard at fall protection hazards, regulations, and silicosis. Safety training and request for documentation of it has seen great increases in recent years. Dollar amounts of fines have risen in recent years. Fines have doubled, tripled, and even quadrupled the amount of what they used to be. Most large general contractors are requiring on site masonry supervision to attend the 30 Hour OSHA course.

Bidding trends remain the same in the Tennessee area with a mix of Design-Build and Open/Competitive Bid Projects. The Federal Government just finished the first of its Design-Build projects at Ft. Campbell, and it seems to be the future of how business will be conducted on the base. We have recently received word the government has approved use of Type 5 Building Construction. This allows for use of wood studs and lap siding, although we haven't seen any such designs so far.

One of the latest issues we have been fighting and trying to change is having to use the low bidder on state funded projects. Many times the government goes with the low bid instead of the best bid. We are in the process of changing that.

VIRGINIA
No report as of this writing.