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Show BUILDING STILL IS PROBLEM MAGAZINE REPORTS "Lack of skilled labor, difficulty in obtaining materials, and high prices are the three major headaches head-aches of the construction industry at the present time, according to a survey recently completed by Engineering News Record. The survey covered more than 50 cities, 450 civil engineers, contractors, architects, suppliers and others, and was conducted by the publication's correspondents "What is your most serious problem prob-lem today?" was the only question ques-tion asked. The answers indicated the general gen-eral picture was good. However, among the darker overtones was that financing, both by public and private buyers of construction, is tightening up. 'The almost universal preoccupation preoccu-pation with lack of manpower extended ex-tended from the design offices of consulting engineers, architects, city engineers and others to contractor's con-tractor's field forces," the magazine maga-zine commented. "The shortage of skilled technicians and materials mate-rials was blamed by most of the corollaries of mounting prices, uncertain un-certain bidding and the apparent growing reluctance of buyers to invest in a product for which no certain price can be set. First to feel the hardening money market are the municipalities, municipal-ities, which must operate on fixed amounts of money. Architects and consultants, too, report a discern- I ible though not yet alarming-trend alarming-trend among their customers to j postpone or cancel some work the magazine reported. |