"The best performing private, nonresidential segment in 2005 was manufacturing construction, with a 21 percent year-over-year gain," said Ken Simonson, AGC chief economist. "A report on manufacturing from the Institute for Supply Management adds to my belief that more companies will opt to build or expand plants."
On the residential side, in spite of January's 16 percent jump in new-home construction, February's total housing starts were down 7.9 percent according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Single-family home construction dipped 2.3 percent to 1.8 million units and multifamily starts fell 30.4 percent from January to February.