At a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $444.9 billion, new construction starts in May retreated 16% from the previous month, it was reported by McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Cos. The decline followed substantial gains for total construction in March (up 23%) and April (up 11%), which reflected the lift coming from two massive nuclear power projects.
Without a similar lift in May, combined with a pullback for public works, the nonbuilding construction sector fell sharply. At the same time, nonresidential building in May showed improvement for the second month in a row, strengthening after weak activity in the early months of 2012, while residential building in May continued its moderate upward path. During the first five months of 2012, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis came in at $180.3 billion, up 6% from the same period a year ago.