Building Bounces Back in September After August Lull
NEW YORK — New construction starts in September grew 13 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $556 billion, according to McGraw Hill Construction.
Nonresidential building bounced back after losing momentum in August, and the non-building construction sector was lifted by the start of several large power plants, which ran counter to the sharp 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 at $379.3 billion, up 2 percent 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 percent.
The September data raised the Dodge Index to 118 (2,000 = 100), up from 104 in August and the highest reading for the index so far in 2013. From January through August this year, the index had hovered between 98-107.