The free fall in the nonresidential construction market may be coming to an end. After slipping for many months, the nonresidential construction market reported a 10% gain in June to $158.6 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge. The increase can be attributed to double-digit growth in the church, health-care, and transportation terminal sectors. While nonresidential construction posted gains in June, its numbers for the first half of 2003 were down 8% from a year ago. This year-to-date drop is attributed to several sectors within this building category that have yet to turn around. Schools and transportation terminal work dropped 4%, church construction dropped 13%, amusement-related projects and public buildings fell 15%, and health-care facilities plunged 16%.
The residential sector, however, posted a 7% gain from a year ago. In June, the dollar amount of new single-family starts was up 1%, and multi-family housing climbed 7%. Nonbuilding construction also reported strong numbers after declining 17% for the first half of 2003. The sector increased 29% to $106.8 billion in June due in part to large power plant projects in Wisconsin, Virginia, and Nebraska. Construction of electric utilities, which dropped 46% during the first six months, experienced a 277% jump in the dollar amount of new starts. Overall, new construction starts increased 9% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $529.5 million.
