Ohio Valley Construction Industry News
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BUSINESS ECONOMISTS WORRY ABOUT POSSIBLE RECESSION IN 2020
A group of top business economists believes the major tax cuts President Donald Trump pushed through Congress will give a significant boost to economic growth this year and next year. But they worry that by 2020, the country could be entering a new recession.
The National Association for Business Economics says in its latest quarterly outlook that its panel of 45 economists expects the economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, to expand 2.8 percent this year. That is down slightly from the panel’s March forecast, which put GDP growth this year at 2.9 percent. Read More...
$16M RAILROAD GRANT COULD HELP WITH OHIO CRACKER
A $16 million federal railroad grant is being hailed as good news for the potential PTT Global Chemical ethane cracker plant down the Ohio River about 60 miles south of Pittsburgh.
PTT has yet to make a final investment decision for the $10 billion ethane cracker, which would be similar in scale to the petrochemical plant that is being built right now by Shell Chemical. A decision on the yearslong building process could be reached this year. Read More...
EXPERT SEES MORE CRACKER ANNOUNCEMENTS COMING SOON 
A chemical industry expert believes Shell Chemical's plant under construction in Beaver County could be joined by announcements about three others in the tri-state region over the next year or so.
The ethane crackers, which produce the building blocks of many consumer plastics, are considered key to a large petrochemical industry in Appalachia fueled by the region's natural gas industry and the chemicals, like ethane, that are byproducts. Read More...
ENTREPRENEURS CITE HIRING AND STAFFING AS TOP CHALLENGES TO GROWTH
Owners of small and mid-size businesses say finding and keeping good employees is their greatest concern for 2018, according to a newly released research report, with the entrepreneurs putting that challenge ahead of cybersecurity, health care and tax considerations. Read More...
On the day that the Granite City plant in Illinois reopened its first blast furnace, U.S. Steel CEO  David Burritt  told CNBC that President  Donald Trump and his administration are doing a "fantastic" job when it comes to imposing tariffs to encourage American-made steel.
"We're actually now seeing our government stand up for the steelworkers, and this is a really good thing for us, " he  said to CNBC . And amid talks of a trade war, the steel industry has faced one for 30 years. Read More...
Industry News
The May/June edition of Under Construction will be delivered to your mailboxes next week! Look for articles on:
TAX CUTS & JOB ACT OF 2017
By Nancy Hughes
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
By Pat McCune - West Virginia
APPALACHIAN STORAGE HUB
By Steve Hedrick
PIRATES CHARITIES: RIVENDALE PATIO GARDEN
NATIONAL SAFETY MONTH
By Ben McFarland & Nelva Smith
Safety and Education
An estimated 2.3 million workers in the United States are potentially exposed to dust containing crystalline silica. Approximately 90 percent of those workers are employed in the construction industry.  Read More...
Ten Most-Asked Questions about the OSHA Inspection Process
How exactly does OSHA work? Is the government really out to get every company and to cite every workplace safety violation? What happens when an OSHA inspector shows up at your door? And can you actually beat an OSHA citation?
Safe + Sound Week
Show your commitment to safety and health by signing up to participate in Safe + Sound Week, August 13-19. Check out these activity ideas and customizable tools, and attend our June 26 webinar to get started: https://www. osha.gov/safeandsoundwe ek  …
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