www.enr.com/articles/11983-georgia-nonresidential-contracts-stall-again-in-october

Georgia Nonresidential Contracts Stall Again in October

December 12, 2012

Steep declines in the value of new nonresidential and infrastructure construction projects caused the overall value of new Georgia contracts to drop 67% in October, according to McGraw-Hill Construction. The company estimated Georgia construction contracts totaled roughly $865.3 million for the month.

Image courtesy Roger B. Kennedy Inc.

Roger B. Kennedy of Orlando is building a $13-million student housing facility at the University of Georgia in Athens.

Nonresidential contracts tallied approximately $365.7 million during October, or 50% lower than the same period of a year ago. The nonbuilding category—which includes infrastructure and energy projects—added just $98.4 million in new contracts during the month, a 94% decline compared to the previous October.

On a year-to-date basis, McGraw-Hill estimates Georgia’s overall contracts total at nearly $18 billion, or 68% higher than 2011’s pace.

That overall increase is due mostly to McGraw-Hill’s reporting of contracts at Southern Company’s Plant Vogtle nuclear power plant project during 2012. The Vogtle project has likewise boosted Georgia’s nonbuilding category, which stands at more than $9.9 billion through October.

The residential category is also positive on a year-to-date basis, with its 2012 total estimated at nearly $3.9 billion in new contracts, or 24% better than 2011’s pace. The nonresidential category is estimated at $4.1 billion through October, or 13% behind the same period for 2011.

Click here to read about the Southeast construction industry's prospects for 2013.

Scott Judy is ENR’s Managing Editor. His roughly 34 years as a construction journalist began with an 11-year stint visiting and writing about construction projects in the Midwest region of Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska. Then, in 2000, Judy helped launch ENR Southeast, now known as ENR Texas & Southeast. After all these years, Judy says his favorite part of being an ENR editor is visiting job sites and learning how—and reporting on—a team’s approach to overcoming the project’s design and construction challenges. And Judy says he never turns down an invitation for a project visit.