MHC sees starts improving in 2014; PPI stays mild in September; latest price trends varyEditor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.Click here to view September PPI table. "For 2013, total construction starts are estimated to rise 5%,” McGraw Hill Construction (MHC) reported in its 2014 Dodge Construction Outlook on October 25. For 2014, “it’s forecast that total construction starts will climb 9%....Single-family housing will grow 26% in dollars, corresponding to a 24% increase in units…Multifamily housing will rise 11% in dollars and 9% in units. While growth continues, the percentage gains will be smaller than the previous four years, reflecting a maturing multifamily market.
September Employment, August Spending, Beige Book, AIA Reports are Positive OverallEditor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 148,000, seasonally adjusted, in September and 2,225,000 (1.7%) over 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Tuesday. Construction employment totaled 5,826,000, up 20,000 from August and up by 193,000 (3.4%) over the past year. Total hours worked in construction (aggregate weekly hours) increased by 4.2% since September 2012, implying that contractors are extending working hours slightly as well as hiring new workers. Residential construction employment (residential building and specialty trade contractors) climbed by 54,300 for the month and 103,300 (5.0%) for the year.
October 28, 2013
Editor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.Starts, planned projects grew last month, MHC says; office, hospital markets look shakyNew construction starts in September jumped 13% from August at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, McGraw Hill Construction (MHC) reported yesterday. “Nonresidential building bounced back after losing momentum in August, and the nonbuilding construction sector was lifted by the start of several large power plants, which ran counter to the sharply downward trend for electric utilities that’s been present during 2013. For the first nine months of 2013, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis were reported…up 2% from the same period a year ago. If electric utilities are excluded from the year-to-date statistics, total construction starts in the first nine months of 2013 would be up 11%....The 2% gain for total construction starts on an unadjusted basis during the January-September period of 2013 reflected a mixed pattern by the three main construction sectors.
October 17, 2013
Editor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.Federal closure has varied construction impacts; most metros, states add jobs Please join Ken, AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker and Reed Construction Data’s Chief U.S. Economist, Bernard Markstein for a complimentary webinar on construction outlook on Thursday, Oct. 17.The partial federal government shutdown has both immediate and longer-term consequences for construction. AGC’s Federal Government Shutdown Resource Center has information regarding numerous federal agencies and programs, such as the E-Verify program that many employers use to check workers’ immigration status. Highway construction funded in part by the Highway Trust Fund is not affected. But federal agencies that directly award construction contracts or that issue permits are not operating. Review of applications for the Keystone XL pipeline and liquefied natural gas export terminals is not proceeding. The Census Bureau did not issue its construction spending report on October 1, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics will not report on employment as scheduled on Friday.
October 07, 2013
Editor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.Construction prices budge little; employment stays flat in August, FMI predicts mild rise The producer price index (PPI) for finished goods increased 0.4%, not seasonally adjusted (0.3%, seasonally adjusted), in August and 1.4% over 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday. PPIs for construction inputs and for prices that contractors charge were generally tame. The PPI for inputs to construction—a weighted average of the cost of all materials used in construction plus items consumed by contractors such as diesel fuel—rose 0.3% for the month and 1.4% year-over-year. The PPI climbed 0.3% and 1.7%, respectively, for residential construction inputs and 0.5% and 1.2% for nonresidential construction. Among major construction inputs, the biggest year-over-year price increase occurred for gypsum products, up 14%, despite a drop of 0.2% from July. Other prices that increased over the year included lumber and plywood, up 1.8% for the month and 9.0% over 12 months; insulation materials, 2.3% and 3.9%; concrete products, 0 and 3.1%; and asphalt paving mixtures and blocks, 0.8% and 0.6%.
September 16, 2013
Editor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.Construction spending hits four-year high; AGC survey finds challenges filling positionsCheck out Ken Simonson's upcoming speaking schedule.Construction spending in July reached a four-year high of $901 billion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, up 0.6% from June and up 5.2% from July 2012, the Census Bureau reported on Tuesday. Census revised up the totals for June and May by $12 billion and $7 billion, respectively, which may lead to an upward revision in the second-quarter estimate for growth in gross domestic product (GDP) later this month. Private residential spending increased 0.6% for the month and 17% year-over-year. Private nonresidential spending rose 1.3% and 2.0%, respectively. Public construction spending fell 0.3% and 3.7%. Of the three residential components, new single-family construction grew 0.5% and 29%; new multifamily spending, 0.1% and 39%; and improvements to existing single- and multifamily buildings, 0.8% and 1.4%. The three largest private nonresidential components (in descending order of current size) all increased from one and 12 months ago: power construction (including conventional and renewable power plus oil and gas fields and pipelines) 0.5% and 5.0%, respectively; manufacturing construction 2.9% and 0.8%; and commercial (new and renovated retail, warehouse and farm), 1.7% and 2.6%.
September 05, 2013
Editor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.More metros and states add jobs in latest year; Reed, MHC, AIA differ on starts Construction employment rose in 201 out of 339 metropolitan areas (including divisions of larger metros) in the 12 months through July (the largest number of gainers since March 2012), declined in 90 and was flat in 48, according to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data that AGC released Friday. However, July 2013 employment exceed prior July highs in only 19 metros, while 28 metros remained at least 50% below past July peaks. (BLS combines mining and logging with construction in most metros to avoid disclosing data about industries with few employers. Because metro data is not seasonally adjusted, comparisons with months other than July are not meaningful.) Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown added by far the largest number of construction jobs in the past year (13,000 construction jobs, 7%).
August 26, 2013
PPI remains tame; multifamily starts surge; MHC expects mild rise for total startsEditor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.Click here to view July PPI tables and here to complete AGC’s Worker Shortage Survey.The producer price index (PPI) for finished goods was down 0.2%, not seasonally adjusted (and was unchanged, seasonally adjusted), in July but up 2.1% over 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Wednesday. The PPI for inputs to construction—a weighted average of the cost of all materials used in construction plus items consumed by contractors such as diesel fuel—was flat for the month and rose 2.0% year-over-year. The PPI for residential construction inputs fell 0.1% in July and was up 2.1% from a year earlier; and for nonresidential construction, -0.1 and 1.8%. Major construction inputs that dropped in price in July and for the year included copper and brass mill shapes, -2.2% and -6.2%; aluminum mill shapes,
August 19, 2013
Construction employment and spending grow in past year but slip in latest monthEditor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.Click here to view June metro employment tables.Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 162,000, seasonally adjusted, in July and 2,276,000 (1.7%) over 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Friday.
August 06, 2013
Starts dip, MHC says; AIA, NABE find positive outlook; hotel construction is revivingEditor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.The value of new construction starts in June edged down 1% from May at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, McGraw Hill Construction (MHC) reported on Monday. “Nonresidential building lost momentum in June after strengthening during the previous two months, and housing experienced a pause from its recent upward trend. Meanwhile, nonbuilding construction advanced in June, lifted by the start of several very large bridge projects. For the first six months of 2013, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis were… down 2% from the same period a year ago. The 2013 year-to-date decline for total construction was due primarily to a sharp reduction for electric utilities compared to a robust first half of 2012. If electric utilities are excluded, total construction starts for the first six months of 2013 would be up 9% from last year, led by substantial growth [28%] for housing,” which offset year-to-date declines of 9% for nonresidential building and 24% for nonbuilding construction.
July 29, 2013
