Page 31 - BusinessWest March 31, 2021
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Starts and Stops
Construction Report Shows Mix of Factors Still Impacting Industry
Total construction starts fell 2% nation- ally in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $797.3 billion, accord-
ing to the latest report from Dodge Data & Analytics. Non-building construction starts posted a solid gain after rebounding from a weak January; however, residential and non- residential building starts declined, leading to a pullback in overall activity.
sector will be hard-pressed to take advantage of this resurgence as rapidly escalating materials prices and a supply overhang across many build- ing sectors weighs on starts through the first half of the year.”
Non-building construction starts gained a robust 20% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $200.3 billion. The miscellaneous non-building sector (largely pipelines and
Replacement Program, a 337-mile pipeline in Minnesota; the $1.2 billion Red River Water Sup- ply Project in North Dakota, and the $950 million New England Clean Energy Connect Power Line in Maine.
Non-residential building starts fell 7% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate
of $208.1 billion. Institutional starts dropped
8% during the month despite a strong pickup
in healthcare. Warehouse starts fell back during the month following a robust January, offset- ting gains in office and hotel starts, and dragging down the overall commercial sector by 8%.
For the 12 months ending February 2021, non-residential building starts dropped 28% compared to the 12 months ending February 2020. Commercial starts declined 30%, institu- tional starts were down 19%, and manufacturing starts slid 58% in the 12 months ending February 2021.
The largest non-residential building projects to break ground in February were Ohio State University’s $1.2 billion Wexner Inpatient Hos- pital Tower in Columbus; ApiJect Systems’ $785 million Gigafactory in Durham, N.C.; and Ster- ling EdgeCore’s $450 million data center in Ster- ling, Va.
Report
Continued on page 43
“With spring just around the corner, hope is building for a strong economic recovery fueled by the growing number of vaccinated Americans. But the construction sector will be hard-pressed to take advantage of this resurgence as rapidly escalating materials prices and a supply overhang across many building sectors weighs on starts through the first half of the year.”
site work) surged 76%, while environmental public works increased 26%, and highway and bridge starts moved 11% higher. By contrast, utility and gas plant starts lost 17% in February.
For the 12 months ending February 2021, total non-build- ing starts were 13% lower than the 12 months ending February 2020. Highway and bridge starts were 4% higher on a 12-month rolling-sum basis, while envi- ronmental public works were up 1%. Miscellaneous non-
       “With spring just around the corner, hope is building for a strong economic recovery fueled by the growing number of vaccinated Ameri- cans,” said Richard Branch, chief economist for Dodge Data & Analytics. “But the construction
building fell 26%, and utility and gas plant starts were down 37% for the 12 months ending Febru- ary 2021.
The largest non-building projects to break ground in February were the $2.1 billion Line 3
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