NEW YORK — At a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $512.9 billion, new construction starts in July slipped 4 percent from a very strong June, according to McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies.
Both residential and nonresidential building were down slightly, while a more significant decline was reported for nonbuilding construction. Through the first seven months of 2003, total construction activity was 1 percent below the same period a year ago.