Nonresidential construction projects in planning rose in September. The Dodge Momentum Index gained 3.7 percent, climbing to 130.8 last month. Planning for commercial projects jumped 3.9 percent, while institutional projects moved 3.2 percent higher. The index has increased at a slow and steady pace since its low point in June, gaining 2.2 percent in the […]
The auto industry is expected to continue its quick pace to recovery with third-quarter retail sales up 27 percent from the second quarter of 2020, forecasts Tru Car and its subsidiary ALG, Inc. Sales in September are forecast to reach 1,221,092 units, down 12 percent from a year ago and down 4 percent from August […]
Construction spending rose 1.4 percent in August primarily due to a robust residential construction sector, said the Associated General Contractors of America. AGC cautioned that without federal support, nonresidential construction will continue to stagnate. “The August spending report shows a stark divide between housing and nonresidential markets that appears likely to widen over the coming […]
Construction jobs in metro areas fell by two-thirds from August 2019 to August 2020, said the Associated General Contractors of America in their latest analysis of government data. Construction employment decreased in 241, or 67 percent, of 358 metro areas during the period. “Although residential construction is picking up in many areas, public and nonresidential […]
Home prices continued to rise at a modest rate in July. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index reported an annual gain of 4.8 percent, compared to 4.3 percent in June. On a month-over-month basis the National Index grew 0.8 percent in July. The 20-city composite, actually 19 cities in July due to […]
Consumers continued to snap up new homes in August with sales up 4.8 percent from July and 43.2 percent higher than a year ago. Sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,011,000, reported the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development. It was the first time since 2006 that the […]
Ford and Canadian union Unifor have reached a tentative agreement for a new three-year contract. Contract negotiations were extended after the original contract expired yesterday at midnight. Both parties agreed to work through the night to avoid a strike by Canadian autoworkers. Ford was selected by Unifor to set the pattern for automotive negotiations with […]
Existing-home sales in the U.S. rose for the third consecutive month in August to their highest level in nearly 14 years. The National Association of Realtors reports a 2.4 percent increase in sales from July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.0 million and a 10.5 percent leap compared to August 2019. The median […]
The year 2020 started out strong for the construction industry, but the latest annual employment figures show the impact of the pandemic. Canceled or postponed construction projects were reflected in new government data on construction employment analyzed by the Associated General Contractors of America. Construction jobs fell in 39 states between August 2019 and August […]
Housing starts fell 5.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.42 million in August due to declines in multi-family construction. Single-family housing starts rose 4.1 percent from July’s annual rate, but multi-family starts plunged more than 20 percent, according to data from U.S. Housing and Urban Development and the Commerce Department. Building permits […]
Builder confidence was at an all-time high in September, said the National Association of Home Builders. The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) rose five points to 83, exceeding last month’s previous high of 78. The index is a strong signal that housing is leading the economic recovery, said NAHB. “Historic traffic numbers have builders […]
July heating and cooling equipment shipments totaled 2.11 million units, up 16.6 percent from the same month one year ago, according to recent data from the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). Recall that last month, we saw the highest monthly shipment level in SMU’s 12+ year limited history, surpassing the previous monthly high in […]
Auto assemblies in North America have recovered rapidly since April. This report is based on data from LMC Automotive for automotive assemblies in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The breakdown of assemblies is “Personal” (cars for personal use) and “Commercial” (light vehicles less than 6.0 metric tons gross vehicle weight rating. Heavy trucks and buses […]
The Dodge Momentum Index increased for a second consecutive month, climbing 1.8 percent in August to 126.5. The commercial component of the index increased 3.3 percent while the institutional component dipped 1.2 percent lower. The index is a monthly measure of the first report for nonresidential building projects in planning, which has been shown to […]
Monthly auto sales are now just estimates due to the predilection of manufacturers to report on a quarterly basis, but analysts at industry forecaster ALG estimate U.S. sales were down about 11 percent year-over-year in August, compared to a 15 percent annual decline in July. Sales increased 6 percent on a month-over-month basis. Toyota sales […]
Construction spending slid in July for both public and private nonresidential construction, says the Associated General Contractors of America in their latest analysis of government data. The decline contrasted a surge in construction spending for new homes in July. “The dichotomy between slumping nonresidential projects—both public and private—and robust homebuilding seems sure to widen as […]
Home prices rose 4.3 percent in the June S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, matching the annual gain in May. The 20-city composite posted a 3.5 percent gain, slipping slightly from 3.6 percent in the previous month. Phoenix, Seattle and Tampa led the increases with year-over-year gains of 9.0 percent, 6.5 percent […]
Sales of new single-family homes soared 13.9 percent in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 901,000 and the highest level in almost 14 years, according to estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Compared to a year ago, sales surged 36.3 percent. The phenomenal increase stunned […]
The latest CRU Global Economic Outlook indicates that Mexican auto production will not reach 2019 levels until 2023, with expectations that 2020 volumes will be down about 23 percent in 2020 and recover 19 percent in 2021. There is some near-term upside to the Mexican market as production returns to normality after the Covid-19-related shutdowns, […]
Construction employment declined in 26 states and the District of Columbia from June to July, says the Associated General Contractors of America in a new analysis of government data. “Renewed outbreaks of coronavirus in numerous states likely caused many project owners and investors to pull back on planned construction,” said AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson. […]
Existing-home sales made a record monthly jump of 24.7 percent in July to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.86 million. Sales have soared the past two months. “The housing market is well past the recovery phase and is now booming with higher home sales compared to the pre-pandemic days,” said Lawrence Yun, National Association of […]
The July Architecture Billings Index held steady at 40.0, the same as June, indicating that business activity continues to be soft at firms, reports the American Institute of Architects. The project Inquiries index slipped from 49.3 in June to 49.1 in July, while the index for design contracts fell sharply from 44.0 to 41.7. Any […]
The housing industry continued to be a boost to the economy in July. Housing starts jumped 22.6 percent in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,496,000 from the revised June rate of 1,220,000. Compared to a year ago, housing starts were up 23.4 percent. “Demand is being supported by low interest rates and […]
June heating and cooling equipment shipments totaled 2.28 million units, up 6.8 percent from the same month one year ago, according to recent data from the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). This is the highest monthly shipment level in SMU’s 12+ year limited history, surpassing the previous monthly high in June 2018 at 2.27 […]
The Dodge Momentum Index posted its first gain in 2020, moving 3.4 percent higher to 124.7. The index has declined 18 percent since December 2019 due to business shutdowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. April was a particularly difficult month for construction planning. “The pullback has largely come from institutional planning, rather than commercial plans,” […]
The construction industry reported 20,000 new jobs in July, but almost all were in new housing construction, says the Associated General Contractors of America. “It is gratifying that the construction industry continued to add jobs in July, but last month’s gains were entirely in residential building and specialty trades,” said AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson. […]
Auto sales are beginning to recover momentum after the pandemic-related shutdowns of the second quarter. The market hit bottom in April, but sales began picking up once mandatory shutdowns eased. Auto manufacturers have been successful in ramping up production and are working to increase inventory. Ward’s Intelligence and ALG Inc. estimate that the seasonally adjusted […]
Construction spending fell for the fourth straight month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.36 trillion in June, according to an analysis of data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Public construction dipped 0.7 percent in June led by a 2.7 percent decline in educational construction and a 1.7 percent drop in highway […]
In three months through June, total construction expenditures had negative growth for the first time since November 2011. SMU Comment: Data in this report is not adjusted for seasonality. We remove this effect by considering only year-over-year data. Total construction contracted by 0.6 percent in June as a result of a 2.6 percent contraction in […]
Construction is slowing but still has positive growth driven by state and local building and infrastructure expenditures. Privately funded work is contracting. In August, construction expenditures were at an all-time high. Steel Market Update analyzes the Construction Put In Place (CPIP) data to provide a detailed description of activity that accounts for about 45 percent […]