September contracts decrease 1 percent
McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Cos., New York, has reported construction starts decreased 1 percent in September. For the first nine months of 2011, total construction was down 5 percent compared with the same period in 2010."The volume of construction starts continues to hover within a set range, not yet able to gain sufficient momentum for expansion to take hold," says Robert A. Murray, vice president of economic affairs for McGraw-Hill Construction. "For a variety of reasons, this extended plateau is likely to last a while longer.
"Tight budget conditions at the federal, state and local levels of government are restraining the amount of construction that's taking place for the institutional building and public works sectors, notwithstanding the occasional upturn such as that shown by public works in September. The slow pace of job creation and widespread uncertainty about the economy are causing developers and lenders to remain hesitant about new commercial projects, and they're also causing potential homebuyers to remain wary about going ahead with home purchases."
Nonresidential building construction decreased 13 percent in September. In the commercial category, store construction grew 15 percent; office construction rose 11 percent; hotel construction dropped 21 percent; manufacturing plant construction decreased 45 percent; and warehouse construction fell 48 percent. In the institutional category, transportation terminals surged 90 percent; churches grew 6 percent; educational buildings increased 1 percent; amusement-related construction dropped 22 percent; health care facility construction slipped 24 percent; and public buildings fell 36 percent.
Residential building construction fell 2 percent in September. Single-family housing held steady and multifamily housing decreased 9 percent.
Nonbuilding construction climbed 11 percent in September.
During the first nine months of 2011, nonresidential building decreased 9 percent compared with the first nine months of 2010. Residential building was down 3 percent, and nonbuilding construction fell 2 percent. By geographic region, the West grew 8 percent; South Atlantic dropped 4 percent; South Central decreased 6 percent; Midwest fell 11 percent; and Northeast slipped 14 percent.
Date : 10/26/2011 12:00 AM