2009 Construction Starts Estimated at $463.1 Billion, Down 15%, McGraw-Hill Construction Reports.

McGraw-Hill Construction Releases the 2009 Construction Outlook Spring Update

NEW YORK, April 2 /PRNewswire/ -- McGraw-Hill Construction, part of The McGraw-Hill Companies , has released its 2009 Construction Outlook Spring Update, providing updated 2009 forecasts of construction starts for various project types.

The major findings of the forecast, authored by Robert Murray, vice president of economic affairs for McGraw-Hill Construction, include:

  --  New construction starts for 2009 are estimated at $463.1 billion, down
      15%, but cushioned by support provided by the recently enacted
      stimulus legislation, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
      2009.
  --  Public works will see the most immediate benefit from the stimulus
      act, with construction starts climbing 10%, including a 15% rise for
      highways and bridges. Without the stimulus funding, it is estimated
      that public works in 2009 would have fallen 10%, restrained by the
      deteriorating fiscal health of state and local governments.
  --  Institutional building in 2009 will retreat 6%, as the weak financial
      environment takes its toll on educational and healthcare facilities.
      The stimulus funding will provide a lift to military facilities and
      energy upgrades for federal buildings, which will moderate this year's
      overall institutional decline.
  --  Commercial building in 2009 will drop 27%, steeper than the 17% slide
      reported last year. The tight lending environment has made it
      extremely difficult to obtain project financing, leading to more
      projects being deferred or cancelled. All commercial project types
      will register declines in 2009, with the most severe retrenchment
      anticipated for hotel construction.

  --  Residential building in 2009 will drop an additional 31%, continuing
      the downward trend that's been underway since 2006. Similar declines
      are expected for single family housing (down 30%) and multifamily
      housing (down 31%). Steps taken in early 2009 to address the
      foreclosure problem should help to ease the rate of descent for
      housing as 2009 progresses.

"The construction industry is facing divergent forces in 2009," said Robert Murray, vice president of economic affairs, McGraw-Hill Construction. "The economy has weakened substantially, and despite all the efforts last fall directed at thawing frozen credit markets, there's yet to be any sign that lending conditions for construction have improved. On the plus side, the federal stimulus bill is now in place, which will provide quick support to public works this year."

The McGraw-Hill Construction Outlook is a mainstay of business planning for construction and manufacturing industry executives. Later this month, local Economic Stimulus and Recovery Watch Strategic Briefings will dig deeper into these statistics and issues to provide regionally relevant analysis and intelligence in San Diego (April 3), Houston (April 15), Chicago (April 22) and Atlanta (April 24).

For more information, visit http://construction.ecnext.com/coms2/summary_0249-307080_ITM_analytics or http://www.construction.com/events/stimulus/default.asp.

About McGraw-Hill Construction

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Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2008 were $6.4 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.

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