August contracts increase 8 percent
McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Cos., New York, has reported construction starts increased 8 percent in August. For the first eight months of 2011, total construction was down 6 percent compared with the same period in 2010."During the first five months of this year, total construction had trended downward, but during the next three months, an up-and-down pattern has emerged," says Robert A. Murray, vice president of economic affairs for McGraw-Hill Construction. "This suggests construction starts are beginning to stabilize after the earlier loss of momentum. At the same time, total construction remains on track to register a moderate decline for 2011 as a whole after leveling off in 2010.
"Although August showed some improvement for institutional building and public works, each of these sectors will be subject to funding cutbacks at the federal and state levels of government," he continues. "Single-family housing continues to see homebuyer demand restrained by the sluggish economic environment and more restrictive lending standards. And what appears to be the early signs of recovery for commercial building may well end up being deferred by rising investor concern about employment growth and the near-term prospects for the U.S. economy."
Nonresidential building construction increased 7 percent in August. In the commercial category, hotel construction surged 125 percent; warehouse construction grew 30 percent; store construction climbed 18 percent; office construction slipped 18 percent; and manufacturing plant construction dropped 62 percent. In the institutional category, health care facility construction surged 107 percent; public buildings climbed 55 percent; amusement-related construction increased 18 percent; educational buildings decreased 7 percent; transportation terminals dropped 8 percent; and churches fell 11 percent.
Residential building construction grew 4 percent in August. Single-family housing increased 1 percent and multifamily construction increased 15 percent.
Nonbuilding construction climbed 13 percent in August.
During the first eight months of 2011, nonresidential building decreased 8 percent compared with the first eight months of 2010. Residential building was down 5 percent, and nonbuilding construction fell 4 percent. By geographic region, the West grew 4 percent; South Central decreased 4 percent; South Atlantic dropped 6 percent; and Northeast and Midwest fell 13 percent.
Date : 9/30/2011 12:00 AM