Boilermakers, trained craftsmen who perform boiler and pressure vessel fabrication, are an "in demand" group with a very defined and specific skill set. Boilermaker activity is a key indicator of the health of the energy and process construction industry in North America. According to a study recently released by Industrial Info Resources, boilermakers are seeing a sizable jump in man-hours required in the following states/provinces in North America: Vermont, Indiana, Illinois, Maine and Nova Scotia. The Skilled Craft Analysis indicates that Vermont is forecast to have a 110 percent increase in required man-hours for 2009. This is, in part, caused by two biomass projects valued more than $300 million scheduled to begin construction this year in the state. Indiana is forecast to have an increase in demand of boilermakers of about 78 percent, and shortages in pipefitters should be expected. The growth is caused by an IGCC plant and an expansion project at the Whiting Refinery. States with the greatest loss of boilermaker jobs and man-hours required are Kansas, Ohio, New Mexico, Alaska and Utah, with losses from 25 percent to 49 percent for 2009.
Industrial Info will demonstrate the newly released Skilled Craft Analysis, which highlights labor shortages and demand for crafts by geographic region, at Booth #603 at the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO 2009 Legislative Conference being held May 17-20 at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. All construction crafts will be represented at the conference, including UA Plumbers, Ironworkers, Boilermakers, IBEW, Sheetmetal workers, Painters, Carpenters and Millwrights.
Increasing market share and optimizing boilermaker resources will be one of the key topics of discussion at this year's conference. Industrial Info, in conjunction with the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, developed the Canadian Market Share Program. Jim Tinney, assistant director of Construction Sector Operations, said that the groundbreaking program identifies man-hours worked by each lodge in a given year and compares that number to the total man-hours available for the lodge's jurisdiction. Thus, if a lodge worked 50,000 man-hours, but 100,000 were available, it would have a 50 percent market share.
The value of the program, Tinney said, is that not only does it provide an accurate picture of the available work for Boilermakers – and how much of that work a local lodge is getting – but it also identifies possible targets for organizing.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is a marketing information service specializing in industrial process, energy- and financial-related markets with products and services ranging from industry news, analytics, forecasting, plant and project databases, as well as multimedia services. To learn more, visit www.industrialinfo.com.
