New construction starts rose 1 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $518.3 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge, a division of the McGraw Hill Companies. Over the first nine months of 2003, total construction was up 1 percent compared to the same period last year.
Nonresidential building suffered a disappointing 7 percent decline in September, dropping to $132.4 billion. The two largest nonresidential categories by dollar volume - school construction and stores - were down 1 and 2 percent respectively. During the fist nine months of 2003, nonresidential building was down 4 percent from 2002.
Residential building also dropped 1 percent from August, to $289.9 billion. Single-family housing dropped 2 percent while multi-family housing jumped 8 percent. Helping to offset the decline in building, the nonbuilding construction segment leaped 23 percent to $95.9 billion, with a tenfold increase in the electric utility category leading the way, reflecting the start of three very large projects - a $1.2 billion power plant in Iowa, a $439 million power plant expansion in Florida and a $95 million power plant in Indiana.
