Monday Manufacturing Round-Up:

Well after a two-week surprise hiatus (a lot of steel receiving and out of the state sales calls) we pick back up in the last week of February to take a look at a couple different manufacturing and housing related articles. Some include OSHA regulation changes for the concrete industry, housing news, and tax graphs. On to the links:

• The National Home Builders Association’s Chief Economist David Crowe checks in with a general state of the construction industry. Crowe takes a look at all factors that could be leading to a disappointing start to the year.
• Meanwhile over at ConcreteConstruction.net, they’ve got an article taking a look at some potentially new regulations OSHA is currently reviewing. This one’s a two-pager, so get ready to read.
• Manufacturing.net has some unfortunate news for those depending on military contracts for a helicopter manufacturer in Connecticut. Due to spending cuts, 600 jobs are about to be eliminated in the construction of Black Hawk helicopters.
• The Home Builders Association of Portland writes about different government requirements that will be shaping the building industry in the surrounding areas for 2014. The topics include Storm Water Management, Utility relocation costs, and voter annexation.
• And finally, Planet Money has graphical information on tax levels. Their information shows that tax levels have consistently been at 1/6th of the total economy for the past 30-some years.

That does it for today’s links. Here’s to a productive start to your week!