Housing, Infrastructure Push Georgia Contracts Higher in August

Significant increases in both the residential and nonbuilding categories pushed Georgia’s August total for new construction contracts to an 8% gain compared to the same period of a year ago, says McGraw-Hill Construction. The overall monthly gain resulted in nearly $922.8 million in new contracts.

Image courtesy Georgia Dept. of Transportation

The Georgia Dept. of Transportation is leading the $1-billion MultiModal Passenger Terminal project, proposed for downtown Atlanta.

The nonbuilding category, which includes infrastructure contracts, saw the greatest improvement, 48%, to tally nearly $202.6 million. Residential contracts also surged, with this category’s August total of $419.7 million representing a 33% increase.

The nonresidential sector continued to struggle, however, falling 26% compared to last August for a $300.5-million tally. This category remains the only negative sector on a year-to-date basis, according to McGraw-Hill. The company estimates the value of Georgia’s 2012 nonresidential contracts at nearly $3.3 billion, or 7% lower than a year ago.

Through August, residential contracts total nearly $3.1 billion, or 20% better than 2011’s pace.

Also, thanks to McGraw-Hill’s reporting of the Plant Vogtle nuclear project earlier this year—which it estimated at more than $8 billion—Georgia’s nonbuilding category now tops $9.7 billion, well ahead of the $1.1 billion reported through August of 2011.

Overall, Georgia’s 2012 contracts stand at approximately $16.1 billion through August, or more than double the $7.1 billion reported at the same time a year ago.

Scott Judy is Deputy Editor for Regions, and editor of ENR Southeast, one of Engineering News-Record's 10 Regional publications. His roughly 27 years as a construction journalist began with an 11-year stint covering Midwest construction projects. In 2000, Judy helped launch the publication now known as ENR Southeast. He often delves into controversial aspects of the construction industry such as bankruptcies and fatal accidents, and wishes he would never have to cover another accident but suspects that he might.