Construction spending in May reached the highest level since December 2009 as widespread gains in private nonresidential construction, single-family and multifamily homebuilding more than offset a continuing downturn in public construction, according to an analysis of new federal data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America.
“It is encouraging to see such a broad-based pickup in private construction,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. Simonson noted that private nonresidential spending climbed for the third month in a row and was 19% higher than in May 2011. Residential construction surged 3% for the month and 8% year-over-year, with new multifamily construction leaping 6% and 50%, respectively, and single-family homebuilding up 2% and 15%.
The construction economist said that four private nonresidential categories each posted 12-month spending increases of more than 25%: power and energy construction, 35%; hotels, 29%; educational and manufacturing, 27% apiece. There were also improvements in year-over-year totals for private transportation such as trucking and rail facilities, up 17%; health care and commercial (retail, warehouse and farm), 11%; and office construction, 7%.
In contrast, public construction slumped for the fifth consecutive month, falling 4% below the May 2011 level, Simonson noted. He said the largest public category, highway and street construction, slipped 0.5% from April but edged up 2% year-over-year, while the second-largest segment, educational construction, fell 3% and 7%, respectively.
“Based on the number and variety of projects that have been announced in recent months, I expect the private nonresidential sector to keep posting hefty gains for the rest of 2012 and beyond,” Simonson predicted. “Apartment construction seems sure to remain strong as well. Single-family homebuilding is not as solid but has apparently passed its low point. Together, these categories should mean that total construction spending in 2012 will be positive for the year for the first time since 2007 despite ongoing weakness in public construction. +
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
'Flexible' building designed to physically respond to the environment
The ecoFLEX project, designed by a team from Shepley Bulfinch, has won a prestigious 2009 Unbuilt Architecture Design Award from the Boston Society of Architects. EcoFLEX features heat-sensitive assemblies composed of a series of bi-material strips. The assemblies’ form modulate with the temperature to create varying levels of shading and wind shielding, flexing when heated to block sunlight and contracting when cooled to allow breezes to pass through the screen.
| Aug 11, 2010
New book provides energy efficiency guidance for hotels
Recommendations on achieving 30% energy savings over minimum code requirements are contained in the newly published Advanced Energy Design Guide for Highway Lodging. The energy savings guidance for design of new hotels provides a first step toward achieving a net-zero-energy building.
| Aug 11, 2010
Perkins+Will master plans Vedanta University teaching hospital in India
Working together with the Anil Agarwal Foundation, Perkins+Will developed the master plan for the Medical Precinct of a new teaching hospital in a remote section of Puri, Orissa, India. The hospital is part of an ambitious plan to develop this rural area into a global center of education and healthcare that would be on par with Harvard, Stanford, and Oxford.
| Aug 11, 2010
Burt Hill, HOK top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 100 largest university design firms
A ranking of the Top 100 University Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
PBK, DLR Group among nation's largest K-12 school design firms, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 75 K-12 School Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Turner Building Cost Index dips nearly 4% in second quarter 2009
Turner Construction Company announced that the second quarter 2009 Turner Building Cost Index, which measures nonresidential building construction costs in the U.S., has decreased 3.35% from the first quarter 2009 and is 8.92% lower than its peak in the second quarter of 2008. The Turner Building Cost Index number for second quarter 2009 is 837.
