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August contracts increase 6 percent

McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Cos., New York, has reported construction starts increased 6 percent in August. For the first eight months of 2010, total construction was down 4 percent compared with the same period in 2009.

"After languishing in late spring, the pace of construction starts picked up during July and August, returning activity to the upper half of its recent range," says Robert A. Murray, vice president of economic affairs for McGraw-Hill Construction. "That range shows total construction starts essentially stabilizing at a low level—relative to its lengthy slide from 2006 through 2008—but not yet moving up to the point where one could say renewed expansion is taking hold. For that to occur, more support on a sustained basis will be needed from housing and nonresidential building, which continue to be dampened by various factors, including tight bank lending and weak demand arising from sluggish job growth."

Nonresidential building construction decreased 4 percent in August. In the commercial category, manufacturing plants surged 63 percent; warehouse construction climbed 28 percent; store construction rose 23 percent; hotel construction dropped 6 percent; and office construction fell 48 percent. In the institutional category, transportation terminals jumped 49 percent; amusement-related construction increased 12 percent; educational buildings climbed 9 percent; public buildings dropped 9 percent; and health care facility construction decreased 33 percent.

Residential building construction decreased 2 percent in August. Single-family housing decreased 3 percent, and multifamily construction fell 1 percent.

Nonbuilding construction jumped 24 percent in August.

During the first eight months of 2010, nonresidential building decreased 14 percent compared with the first eight months of 2009. Residential building was up 11 percent, and nonbuilding construction decreased 4 percent. By geographic region, the Northeast grew 6 percent; Midwest dropped 1 percent; South Central decreased 4 percent; West declined 7 percent; and South Atlantic decreased 10 percent.

9/23/2010  

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