Nonresidential Construction Starts Mixed by Region

ConstructConnect reported in the Construction Economy Snapshot that year-to-date (YTD) regional construction activity has been generally positive for most coastal regions and yet difficult for much of mid-America.

Through July, YTD construction spending expanded the fastest in the South Atlantic (+24.2%) thanks to extreme growth in Virginia and South Carolina. Collectively, these two states have reported a doubling of starts spending YTD, with total nonresidential exceeding $40.6 billion.

The second-best performing region was the Pacific, with YTD growth of 12.8%, led by Alaska (+111%) and Washington (+41%).

Chief Economist Michael Guckes writes, "Across the middle of the country, results were far more austere." The West South Central region comprised of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas fell -21.6%. YTD construction spending in the critical state of Texas has fallen by -22.6%. Texas’s YTD performance is only slightly better than Louisiana’s (-24.7%) and almost equal to Oklahoma’s (-22.7%).

The growth of heavy engineering across much of the country continues to offset weak nonresidential building spending, according to Guckes.

Read the Construction Economy Snapshot for more details, including trend graphs, analysis, and commentary.

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