Engineering News-Record

"Engineering News-Record" (widely known as ENR) is a weekly magazine that provides news, analysis, data and opinion for the construction industry worldwide.It has been published since 1874.It is owned by The McGraw-Hill Companies.

The magazine's subscribers include contractors, project owners, engineers, architects, government regulators and industry suppliers.It covers the design and construction of high-rise buildings, stadiums, airports, long-span bridges, dams, tunnels, power plants, industrial plants, water and wastewater projects, and toxic waste cleanup projects.It also covers the construction industry's financial, legal, regulatory, safety, environmental, management, corporate and labor issues.

"ENR" annually ranks the largest contractors and design firms in the U.S. and internationally. Its "construction economics" section covers the cost fluctuations of a wide range of building materials.

"ENR" rankings

"Engineering News-Record" compiles and publishes rankings of the largestconstruction and engineering firms annually, measured by gross revenues.The rankings include the largest 400 U.S. general contractors, the largest500 U.S. design firms (architectural and engineering firms), thelargest 600 U.S. specialty contractors, the largest 100 constructionmanagement firms, the largest 100 design-build firms, the largest 200environmental engineering firms, the largest 40 program management firms,the largest 200 international design firms, and the largest 225international contractors. Since well over 90 percent of these firms areprivately owned, most of the financial breakouts contained in these rankingtables are not available elsewhere.

"ENR" awards

The editors of Engineering News-Record collectively decide each year torecognize 25 individuals who they feel have served the best interests of the construction industry and the public. To be eligible, a person, orthe project they worked on, must have been covered in the pages of themagazine or the magazine's website. No outside nominations are allowed.The 25 award recipients, called "Newsmakers," receive brief writeups in thefirst issue in January.

After choosing the 25 Newsmakers, the editors then pick the single Newsmakerthey feel has made the most significant contribution during the year, anddesignate that person to receive the ENR Award of Excellence. TheNewsmakers and the Award of Excellence recipient are all recognized at adinner held in New York City in March or April.

The Newsmaker awards, which were originally called Marksmen awards, havebeen issued annually since 1964. The Award of Excellence, originally calledthe Man of the Year award, has been issued annually since 1966. Award ofExcellence recipients include Robert Boyd, who brought engineering andmanaging excellence to Hydro-Québec's $15-billion James Bay project, FazlurKhan, avant-garde designer of tall buildings, and Vinton Bacon, whosefearless fight against graft in Chicago's Metropolitan Sanitary Districtbrought an attempt on his life.

"ENR"'s economic data

"Engineering News-Record", as a service to its readers, compiles and publishesan extensive amount of data on building material prices and constructionlabor costs. Each month it publishes prices for 75 different buildingmaterials, in each of 20 major U.S. cities, as well as Montreal and Toronto.The first weekly issue each month contains a table of cement, ready-mixconcrete, and aggregate (crushed stone) prices, the second weekly issuecontains a table of pipe prices, the third issue contains lumber, plywood,drywall, and insulation prices, and the fourth issue contains steel andother metal product prices.

A small amount of this data is then used to calculate two monthly indexfigures, the Construction Cost Index and the Building Cost Index. Bothindexes are calculated using a formula made up of fixed amounts of fourcomponents -- portland cement, 2x4 lumber, structural steel (steel beams),and labor. The only difference between the two indexes is in their laborcomponent. The labor component of the Construction Cost Index is common(unskilled) labor, while the labor component of the Building Cost Index isskilled labor.

The Construction Cost Index has been issued since 1908, while the BuildingCost Index has been issued since 1915. Each index is widely used throughoutthe U.S. construction industry as a benchmark for measuring inflation.

The "ENR" cost indexes were created by ENR's director of market surveys, ElsieEaves.

"ENR"'s economic analysis

"Engineering News-Record" publishes quarterly cost reports, which are eight totwelve page collections of articles analyzing the most critical factorsimpacting construction costs. Topics may include lumber prices, personnelshortages, copper prices, fuel costs, and workers' compensation insurance.The December cost report is always devoted to international constructioncosts.

External links

* cite web | url = http://www.enr.com/default.asp | title = Official website | accessdate = 2006-09-22
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