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Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 in the Construction Industry (Fri, 03 Jul 2020)
(Image courtesy of Pexels.) The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the construction industry created nearly immediate effects. Faced with cancelled projects, supply chain disruption and other short-term issues, approximately 40 percent of U.S. construction firms reported layoffs by the end of April. Already a volatile industry that relies on a robust economy, companies are having to think on their feet and consider what the future of construction will look like. When the pandemic hit, the...
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Will Your Building Handle Physical Distancing When It Opens? Check with Free Software (Mon, 29 Jun 2020)
In what appears to the most magnanimous of gestures, Bentley Systems is making LEGION Simulator, perhaps the most sophisticated of all the crowd simulation applications, and OpenBuildings Station Designer, available at no monthly cost until September 30. In a world that is trying to reopen while still in the throes of a pandemic, Bentley is hoping that at least buildings, subways and airports will be safer for the availability of its software. Usable for hospital shift changes, office work...
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Texas & Louisiana Construction News

Despite Unresolved Design Issues, Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge Construction Continues (Tue, 30 Jun 2020)
More than six months after design work was halted on its signature cable-stayed main spans, construction of the new Harbor Bridge in Corpus Christi, Texas, has pressed ahead, even as uncertainties shroud its ultimate cost and completion schedule.
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Superdome Contractor Isolates 32 Workers with COVID-19 (Fri, 19 Jun 2020)
The Mercedes-Benz Superdome renovation is the latest stadium construction project to experience a surge of COVID-19 cases, as 32 of the project's more than 275 workers have tested positive for the virus, stadium officials confirmed this week.
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Today in Energy

In 2019, the United States produced and consumed record volumes of natural gas (Fri, 10 Jul 2020)
Natural gas is one of the main sources of energy in the United States. In 2019, U.S. production of dry natural gas increased to almost 34 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) and consumption increased to 31 Tcf—both values were records. The U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) U.S. natural gas flow diagram shows the magnitude of U.S. natural gas supply (production, imports, and withdrawals from storage) and disposition (consumption, exports, and additions to storage) in 2019.
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Drop in petroleum demand led to rise in crude oil inventories and low refinery utilization (Thu, 09 Jul 2020)
The U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) latest Petroleum Supply Monthly shows the significant changes in petroleum markets that occurred in April, when most of the United States was under stay-at-home orders to limit the spread of coronavirus. In April, commercial crude oil inventories increased by 46.7 million barrels (10%)—the largest monthly increase in EIA data going back to 1920. U.S. refineries operated at 70% of their capacity, the lowest utilization rate in EIA's monthly data series dating back to 1985. Demand for finished petroleum products fell to 11.7 million barrels per day (b/d), the lowest level since at least 1981.
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Business

A New Year’s feast spread the virus and now it divides scientists (Fri, 10 Jul 2020 15:00:36 UT)
As three families lunched at neighboring tables in a stuffy restaurant in southern China in January, they partook of more than a New Year’s meal. They shared an invisible pathogen apparently carried aloft in an air conditioner’s breeze.
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Here's what you need to know about Blackout Day 2020 (Tue, 7 Jul 2020 18:48:10 UT)
It's a day for the Black community to flex its economic muscle.
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