Chilly autumn.A slowdown appears to be in the works for several construction segments, as overall August construction starts dropped 4 percent from the previous month, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. figures compiled by The McGraw-Hill Cos., New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . The trend appeared to continue into September, as single-family housing starts slowed by six percent for the month. However, U.S. Commerce Department data also showed an uptick Uptick A transaction occurring at price above its previous transaction. In order for an uptick to occur, a transaction price must be followed by an increased transaction price. in new residential building permits, which could indicate a rebound rebound (rē´bownd), n/v 1. a recovery from illness. n 2. an outbreak of fresh reflex activity after withdrawal of a stimulus rebound adjective . September Commerce Department numbers were gloomy gloom·y adj. gloom·i·er, gloom·i·est 1. Partially or totally dark, especially dismal and dreary: a damp, gloomy day. 2. , though, with the West and the Northeast showing double-digit drops in new housing starts. For the overall construction industry, the retreat to an annual rate of $573.3 billion was because of a slower pace in all three segments: nonresidential building, residential construction and infrastructure or non-building construction. Even with the August slowdown, overall industry numbers are still historically strong, according to Robert A. Murray, vice president of economic affairs for McGraw-Hill Construction. "Total construction continues to move at a healthy pace, and it's now virtually certain that full year growth for 2004 will exceed the 5 percent gain in 2003." Single-family housing will need to remain strong, "as tight fiscal conditions over the past several years continue to have a restraining RESTRAINING. Narrowing down, making less extensive; as, a restraining statute, by which the common law is narrowed down or made less extensive in its operation. influence on the institutional structure types and public works public works pl.n. Construction projects, such as highways or dams, financed by public funds and constructed by a government for the benefit or use of the general public. Noun 1. construction," according to Murray. Infrastructure construction in August fell 2 percent to $100.1 billion. On the plus side, highways and bridges had a strong August, with respective gains of 11 percent and 25 percent. Helping to boost the bridge total in August were the start of major renovation projects in Houston ($175 million) and New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. ($137 million). While August was relatively strong for transportation-related work, the broader trend during 2004 has been downward, with the first eight months of 2004 showing a 2 percent decline for highways and a 16 percent decline for bridges. "Uncertainty related to when a new federal transportation bill will be passed has played a role in dampening this year's highway and bridge construction starts," notes Murray. The commercial building segments in August fell 7 percent in new contract values, with retail stores down 4 percent, warehouses down 7 percent, offices down 14 percent, and hotels down 32 percent. July office numbers were boosted by the $800 million related to the start of the Freedom Tower in lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York. Lower Manhattan is generally defined as the area delineated on the north by Chambers Street, on the west by the Hudson River (North . If this project is excluded from July statistics, new office starts in August would be up 37 percent, as large office projects reaching the groundbreaking stage that month included the $400 million headquarters for the New York Times in midtown mid·town n. A central portion of a city, between uptown and downtown. midtown Noun US & Canad the centre of a town Manhattan and an $80 million federal office building in Chicago. A 10 percent overall gain for total construction during the January-August period of 2004 reflected this pattern by sector: residential building, up 18 percent; nonresidential building, up 2 percent; and infrastructure construction, up 1 percent.
U.S. CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT VALUES
% Change
Residential +18% $221.8 * $187.3 *
Non-Resid. Const. +2% $108.7 * $106.7 *
Infrastructure +1% $63.8 * $63.0 *
Total +10% $394.3 * $357.0 *
* in billions
Source: McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge
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