Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/37044
60 • AUGUST 2011 • WORLD FENCE NEWS The Dodge Report May construction slides six percent BEDFORD, Mass. — At a sea- sonally adjusted annual rate of $376.1 billion, new construction starts in May dropped 6% from the previous month, it was reported by McGraw-Hill Con- struction, a division of The McGraw- Hill Companies. Non-residential building pulled back after its improved level in March and April, while residential building stayed weak. The non-building con- struction sector showed moderate growth in May, as a strong gain for electric utilities offset a loss of mo- mentum for public works. During the first five months of 2011, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis came in at $155.2 bil- lion, down 9% from the same period a year ago. The May statistics produced a reading of 80 for the Dodge Index (2000=100), compared to a revised 84 for April. “The pattern of construction starts continues to hover at a low volume, providing little evidence to this point that renewed expansion is taking hold,” stated Robert A. Murray, vice- president of economic affairs for Mc- Graw-Hill Construction. “The current year has seen a few bright spots, such as gains for multifamily housing, man- ufacturing plants and electric utilities. In general, though, the parts of the construction industry that are most likely to see growth in the early stages of a cyclical upturn, such as single family housing and commercial build- ing, have either wavered or at best shown only intermittent gains. At the same time, the parts of the construc- tion industry dependent on public fi- nancing, such as institutional building and public works, have weakened fur- ther. The result is that the current pe- riod of ‘bouncing along the bottom’ for total construction is becoming more and more extended.” Non-residential building in May plunged 12% to $138.7 billion (annual rate), reflecting decreased activity for a majority of the non-residential struc- ture types. On the institutional side, trans- TILT-A-WAY RESIDENTIAL & INDUSTRIAL OPERATORS portation terminal work in May plum- meted 59% after a robust April, which had been lifted by the start of a $1.2 billion airport terminal renovation and expansion at New York’s JFK Interna- tional Airport. May did see a few large trans- portation-related projects reach groundbreaking, such as a $176 mil- lion subway station in New York, N.Y., but these were smaller in scope than what took place in April. The public buildings category in May weakened 27%, despite the start of a $90 million courthouse expansion in Rockville, Md., and amusement-re- lated projects dropped 23%. A more moderate decline in May was reported for educational buildings, which slipped 7% from April. Large projects that provided some support to May’s amount of educational building included a $175 million university re- search facility in New York, N.Y. and a $79 million high school in Katy, Tex. Healthcare construction was one institutional structure type that was able to show greater activity in May, rising 15%. May included the start of four large hospital or medical center projects valued each at $100 million or greater, located in Colorado ($299 mil- lion), California ($225 million), Florida ($166 million), and Texas ($100 million). On the commercial side, hotel construction fell 64% in May, com- pared to April which included ground- breaking for two hotels valued at $127 million and $108 million, respectively. The largest hotel to reach ground- Compare our quality! You will see there is a difference! Commercial Residential breaking in April was a $30 million In- dian tribe casino hotel in Kinder, La. Office construction in May fell 8%, continuing to retreat after its ele- vated pace in March. The largest office project that reached groundbreaking in May was a $130 million FBI office building in Salt Lake City, Utah. Store construction in May also fell by 8%, as this structure type continues to languish. The warehouse category in May was able to jump 39%, helped by the start of two large warehouses for dis- count retail chains, located in Indiana ($58 million) and Alabama ($48 mil- lion). All operators meet UL-325 and CSA-247 (800) 523-3888 www.tiltaway.com info@tiltaway.com The manufacturing building cate- gory in May advanced 35%, helped by the start of a $190 million biofuel plant in Columbus, Miss., a $98 million manufacturer-owned distribution facil- ity in University Park, Ill., and a $75 million battery manufacturing plant in Middletown, Del. Residential building, at $116.5 bil- lion (annual rate), dropped 7% in May. Single family housing slipped an addi- tional 2%, as it has generally receded during the early months of 2011.