The Dodge Momentum Index erased the gains made over the last two months, falling 4.4% in July to 121.4 (2000=100). This marks the index’s first decline in four months, according to McGraw Hill Construction, a division of McGraw Hill Financial. The Momentum Index is a monthly measure of the first (or initial) report for nonresidential building projects in planning, which have been shown to lead construction spending for nonresidential buildings by a full year.While the Dodge Momentum Index stumbled in July, on a year-over-year basis it remains 16.5% higher than a year earlier. The July decline therefore may simply be
The last three months have shown steadily increasing demand for design services and the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) is now at its highest level since 2007. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine- to 12-month lead time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects reported the July ABI score was 55.8, up noticeably from a mark of 53.5 in June. This score reflects an increase in design activity (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was 66.0, following a very strong mark of 66.4 the
New construction starts in July climbed 6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $588.8 billion, according to McGraw Hill Construction, a division of McGraw Hill Financial. Nonresidential building continued to advance, supported by yet another robust month for manufacturing plant projects as well as improvement for commercial building. The nonbuilding construction sector (public works and electric utilities) also advanced, helped by the start of a large mass transit rail project. At the same time, residential building was unchanged from its pace in June. For the first seven months of 2014, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis were reported
New government data show the uneven nature of the construction industry’s recovery, as the sector added 22,000 jobs in July but suffered a pullback in spending in June, according to a recent analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America. “Construction employment and spending are both rising at a moderate year-over-year clip, but there have been some setbacks,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “While prospects for private construction remain largely favorable, inadequate public investment still threatens to keep too many workers idle.”Construction employment totaled 6,041,000 in July, the highest total since May 2009, while the industry’s unemployment rate
The Credit Managers’ Index (CMI) from the National Association of Credit Management (NACM) improved to 56.8 from 56.1 in July. The readings for the favorable and unfavorable factor indices improved, from 62.4 to 63.7 for the favorable factor index, marking the highest point in over four years, and from 52.0 to 52.2 for the unfavorable factor index. The latter is below marks set earlier in the year but is trending in direction. “The overall sense is that real progress in economic recovery is being made and the future looks brighter,” said NACM Economist Chris Kuehl, about the July CMI report.
Nonresidential fixed investment expanded 5.5% and residential fixed investment expanded 7.5% during the second quarter of 2014, according to a July 30 release by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Overall, real gross domestic product (GDP) increased 4% (seasonally adjusted annual rate) during the second quarter of 2014 following a 2.1% decrease (revised from -2.9%) in the first quarter.“The robust second quarter growth was primarily driven by higher consumer and business spending,” said Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “The 4% reading on second quarter GDP blew away consensus expectations of 3%, and the first quarter wasn’t quite as
Nonresidential construction spending fell during June after posting significant gains the previous two months, but remains 4.6% higher than a year ago, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Spending for June totaled $588.8 billion on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis, a 2.8% drop from the upwardly revised $605.6 billion in nonresidential construction spending from the previous report. “The monthly decline in spending should not be cause for significant alarm,” said Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “The impact of a brutal winter continues to manifest itself in the data. A considerable volume of construction was postponed during the
Planning to work out of state? Here are some tips to avoid surprises when you perform a construction or design contract outside your home state. 1. Become authorized to do business. Whether you want to do business in another state as an existing construction or design firm or create a new entity to do business in the other state, you need to get a certificate of authority from the state agency that regulates business entities—usually the secretary of state or the department of commerce.One reason for registering in each state where you do business is that many states prohibit an
Construction employment expanded in 215 metro areas, declined in 80 and was stagnant in 44 between June 2013 and June 2014, according to a new analysis of federal employment data recently released by the Associated General Contractors of America. “Contractors have been expanding their workforce in about two-thirds of the country for several months in a row,” said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. “Some metro areas are adding workers at a strong clip, but the gains remain modest and sporadic in many localities.”Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas added the largest number of construction jobs in the past year (11,700 jobs, 10%), followed
New construction starts in June advanced 6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $549.7 billion, the highest level so far in 2014, according to McGraw Hill Construction, a division of McGraw Hill Financial. Nonresidential building strengthened after pulling back in May, with the lift coming from the start of several large manufacturing plant projects. Modest gains in June were also reported for housing and nonbuilding construction (public works and electric utilities). During the first six months of 2014, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis were $254.1 billion, up 1% from the same period a year ago.June’s data raised
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