North Carolina Contracts Gain 17% in December

The value of North Carolina construction contracts surged 17% in December but fell just short of the amount needed to push the state’s 2011 total into positive territory, according to McGraw-Hill Construction.

Continuing gains in the nonbuilding sector, along with a jump in residential contracts, pushed North Carolina’s December total to $1.1 billion, or 17% better than the same period of a year ago.

McGraw-Hill Construction estimated the state’s nonbuilding contracts at $233.7 million for December, or more than double the amount registered a year ago. Residential contracts improved by 24%, tallying nearly $498.9 million for the month. Meanwhile, nonresidential contracts tallied nearly $387.9 million, or 15% behind last year’s pace.

For the year as a whole, the nonbuilding category, which includes infrastructure projects, was the only positive. This category totaled more than $4.4 billion in new contracts during 2011, or 29% better than 2010’s final total.

The nonbuilding surge wasn’t sufficient for an overall gain for the year, though. Nonresidential work was off by 16% in 2011, delivering roughly $4.5 billion in new contracts. Residential fell 5%, with a final estimate of nearly $5.7 billion.

Overall, McGraw-Hill Construction estimated North Carolina’s 2011 contracts at more than $14.5 billion, or 2% lower than 2010’s final of nearly $14.8 billion.

Scott Judy is Deputy Editor for Regions, and editor of ENR Southeast, one of Engineering News-Record's 10 Regional publications. His roughly 27 years as a construction journalist began with an 11-year stint covering Midwest construction projects. In 2000, Judy helped launch the publication now known as ENR Southeast. He often delves into controversial aspects of the construction industry such as bankruptcies and fatal accidents, and wishes he would never have to cover another accident but suspects that he might.