Construction contracts settled back 2% in August, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $403 billion, as reported by the F.W. Dodge Division of the McGraw-Hill Companies. Both housing and public works sectors posted moderate declines, but nonresidential building was able to register a slight increase over the previous month.
While both July and August witnessed a loss of momentum from strong showings in previous months, the level of construction activity continues to be higher than a typical month during 1998, which itself was a very strong year for the building industry.