New construction starts fell 10% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $401.2 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Cos. After showing improvement during the spring, the pace of construction starts retreated over the past three months, with July coming in at the lower end of the recent range of activity.
Non-building construction, comprised of public works and electric utilities, fell sharply in July, while both nonresidential building and housing lost some of their earlier momentum. For the first seven months of 2012, the volume of total construction starts on an unadjusted basis was reported at $262.9 billion, holding on to a 4% gain compared to the same period a year ago.