Construction Starts in December Decline 3% Nationwide
New construction starts in December fell 3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $410.0 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Cos. Nonresidential building in December held steady with the prior month, and residential building was able to show modest improvement.
However, the non-building construction sector lost momentum in December, as electric utilities retreated from the record pace witnessed earlier in the year. For all of 2011, total construction starts slipped 2% to $421.4 billion, following the slight 1% gain reported for 2010. After the steep declines reported during the 2007-2009 period, when activity dropped a combined 38%, the overall volume of new construction starts has essentially stabilized at a low level during the past two years.