The value of construction put in place in November totaled $1.013 trillion, the Census Bureau reported last week, 0.4 percent less than the revised October total. On a year-to-date basis, spending for the first 11 months of 2004 was 9 percent higher than the same period in 2003, according to the Associated General Contractors of America.
Private residential construction was 14 percent higher year-to-date, and private nonresidential and public construction were each 3 percent higher.
The tsunami in Asia may put upward pressure on some construction materials costs, the AGC added. Materials such as cement and steel may be harder to obtain in early 2005 because the materials themselves are being shipped to Asia or because the delivery ships are being used for relief.
