Dive Brief:
According to Dodge Data & Analytics, March's monthly
construction starts fell 1% from February to a
seasonally adjusted annual rate of $660.5 billion. The dip was
largely due to a 30% plunge in the nonbuilding sector, the
effects of which were mitigated by a 23% surge in the nonresidential sector and
a slight 3% rise in residential.
Dodge reported that total first quarter starts were
valued at $141.7 billion, down 10% year over year.
If the major plunge in gas and electric starts were
excluded from Dodge’s calculations, the construction data company said March
month-to-month starts would be 4% higher than February and down only 4% from
the first quarter of 2015.
Dive Insight:
Dodge Data & Analytics Chief Economist Robert Murray
said the increase in nonresidential, spurred along by the 44% rise in
institutional starts, was the standout for the month. Using historical figures
of institutional trends, he said that March’s education (20%) and
transportation (339%) activity could be pushing nonresidential into
"expansion mode."
Boosting March nonresidential starts were the $663
million rail terminal caverns at
Grand Central Station in New York City, the $537 million terminal building at Louis Armstrong International
Airport in New Orleans and $292 million of work at the new Toyota
headquarters campus in Plano, TX. Multifamily drove the residential sector’s
growth with 12 projects of more than $100 million getting underway. While
nonbuilding was a disappointment overall, that sector did see the kickoff of
big solar power projects in California ($1.3 billion for two projects), Utah
($450 million), Texas ($298 million), Idaho ($200 million) and Alabama ($200
million).
The Commerce Department reported this month that housing starts fell 8.8%
from February to March and that new applications for building permits dropped
7.7%. The agency also reported that single-family (-9.2%) and multifamily
(-8.5%) construction was down and said this decrease in activity could foretell
a "cooling" of the housing market.
Recommended
Reading
Dodge Data & Analytics: March Construction Eases Back One
Percent
Source: Construction
Dive
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