New construction starts in November slipped 3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $570.8 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies. Both the nonresidential and residential building sectors witnessed reduced activity relative to October, while the public works sector showed improvement. For the first 11 months of 2004, total construction on an unadjusted basis was reported at $538.3 billion, a 9% gain compared to the corresponding period of 2003.
"The pace of construction starts in November came in below this year's average, but 2004 overall is still turning out to be a very healthy year for the construction industry," stated Robert A. Murray, vice president of economic affairs for McGraw-Hill Construction. "The 9% increase for total construction during the first 11 months of 2004 compares favorably to the full year gains of 5% in 2003 and 1% in 2002. Single family housing has provided much of the support for total construction this year; an additional positive has been the emerging upward trend for commercial building."