Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/53564
BEDFORD, Mass. – At a season- ally adjusted annual rate of $417.6 bil- lion, new construction starts in November dropped 11% from Octo- ber's elevated pace, according to Mc- Graw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies. Non-residential building retreated after being boosted in October by the start of a massive manufacturing plant, and non-building construction showed electric utilities pulling back from the brisk pace of recent months. Meanwhile, residential building in November registered moderate growth, helped by further strengthen- ing for multifamily housing. During the first 11 months of 2011, total construction on an unad- justed basis was reported at $390.5 bil- 52 • FEBRUARY 2012 • WORLD FENCE NEWS The Dodge Report November construction slides 11 percent lion, down 2% from the same period a year ago. The November statistics lowered the Dodge Index to 88 (2000=100), compared to the reading of 99 for Oc- tober. For the January-November pe- riod of 2011, the Dodge Index averaged 90, essentially the same as its full year average of 91 in 2010 and 90 in 2009. "The strong volume in October, with total construction starts climbing 12%, was not likely to be sustained given the fact that much of the lift came from the start of several unusu- ally large projects," stated Robert A. Murray, vice-president of economic affairs for McGraw-Hill Construction. "In November, activity returned close to its average pace so far in 2011, which is essentially the same as what was being reported during the previous two years. The picture for construction starts in a broad sense continues to be stability at a low level, with renewed expansion not yet taking hold. "By individual project types, how- ever, there has been a varied pattern during 2011. Year-to-date gains have been reported for multifamily housing, manufacturing plants, electric power plants, and even some commercial building types, but this has been offset by further weakening for single family housing, institutional building, and public works," he said. Non-residential building in No- vember fell 20% to $142.4 billion (an- nual rate), following its 36% surge in the previous month. The largest de- cline was reported for the manufactur- ing plant category, which plunged 72% from October which included $3 bil- lion for work on the Adam's Fork coal- to-gasoline facility in West Virginia. If the Adam's Fork project is ex- cluded from the October statistics, then the manufacturing plant category in November would be up 140%, non- residential building would be steady, and total construction would be down a more moderate 4%. The manufacturing plant category in November did feature several large projects, such as a $500 million pipe manufacturing plant in Texas, al- though not to the same extent as what took place in October. For commercial building, office construction in November retreated 26% from October, which had been supported by the start of a $285 mil- lion office building in New York, N.Y. At the same time, the office cate- gory in November did include the start of such projects as a $150 million ren- ovation of a corporate headquarters in Plainsboro, N.J. and a $79 million FBI office building in San Diego. Stores and warehouses weakened in November, with respective declines of 9% and 16%, while hotel construc- tion was flat. The institutional categories showed mixed behavior in November. Healthcare facilities jumped 41%, aided by the November start of a $613 million replacement hospital for the Veterans Administration in Aurora, Colo. and a $200 million hospital ad- dition in Fullerton, Calif. The educational building category, down just 1%, was essentially steady in November, and was helped by the start of two university-related science buildings – a $254 million facility in Washington, D.C. and a $185 million facility in Portland, Ore. The smaller institutional cate- gories in November reported de- creased activity, with churches down 27%; transportation terminals down 31%; recreation-related projects down 33%; and public buildings, down 38%. For the first 11 months of 2011, non-residential building came in 4% below a year ago. The institutional sector fell 12%, with weaker activity for educational buildings, down 12%; churches, down 15%; recreation-re- lated projects, down 20%; public buildings, down 21%; and contin ued on pa g e 59