June contracts increase 15 percent
McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Cos., New York, has reported construction starts climbed 15 percent in June. For the first six months of 2011, total construction was down 7 percent compared with the same period in 2010."The pattern of construction starts during the early months of 2011 showed a loss of momentum, largely because of renewed weakness for single-family housing combined with a pullback for public works and institutional building," says Robert A. Murray, vice president of economic affairs for McGraw-Hill Construction. "June's gain enables the average for this year's second quarter to be down a modest 2 percent from the first quarter, a milder slowdown than what was being suggested by the data through May. The overall level of construction continues to be weak, but June's gain is consistent with the sense that construction activity is hovering at a low level rather than seeing further sustained declines."
Nonresidential building construction increased 11 percent in June. In the commercial category, hotel construction jumped 55 percent; office construction increased 39 percent; warehouse construction climbed 30 percent; store construction grew 11 percent; and manufacturing plant construction dropped 13 percent. In the institutional category, amusement-related construction jumped 90 percent; public buildings grew 89 percent; health care facility construction rose 16 percent; educational buildings increased 4 percent; churches dropped 34 percent; and transportation terminals plummeted 77 percent.
Residential building construction grew 1 percent in June. Single-family housing was unchanged and multifamily construction increased 8 percent.
Nonbuilding construction jumped 34 percent in June.
During the first six months of 2011, nonresidential building decreased 9 percent compared with the first six months of 2010. Residential building was down 10 percent, and nonbuilding construction fell 1 percent. By geographic region, the West grew 7 percent; South Central decreased 9 percent; Northeast and South Atlantic dropped 10 percent; and Midwest fell 12 percent.
Date : 7/26/2011 12:00 AM