Construction starts were up 5 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.2 trillion, according to Dodge Construction Network.
Nonresidential building starts grew 2 percent and nonbuilding starts moved 16 percent higher. Residential building starts fell 1 percent.
Through 11 months of 2024, total construction starts are up 5 percent versus the first 11 months of 2023. Nonresidential starts are up 4 percent in that time. Residential starts are up 7 percent through 11 months of 2024, and nonbuilding starts are up by 5 percent.
“Construction starts continue to move sideways as the market waits for further rate cuts,” says Richard Branch, chief economist at Dodge Construction Network. “Elevated interest rates, labor shortages and strict lending standards will continue to constrain construction activity in the near term.”
Nonbuilding
Nonbuilding construction grew 16 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $368 billion.
According to Dodge Construction Network, environmental public works starts jumped 63 percent in November while utility/gas starts moved 35 percent higher. Miscellaneous nonbuilding starts grew 3 percent during the month, and highway and bridge starts fell 11 percent.
Through 11 months of 2024, total nonbuilding starts are 5 percent higher compared to a year ago. Miscellaneous nonbuilding starts are up 27 percent through 11 months, environmental public works starts are 16 percent higher, and highway and bridge starts have improved by 6 percent.
Utility/gas starts are down 16 percent through 11 months of 2024.
Dodge Construction Network says the largest nonbuilding projects to break ground in November were the $2.9 billion Central Everglades Reservoir Embankment projects in Palm Beach County, Florida, the $2 billion Bahia NGL Pipeline across several counties in Texas, and the $1.4 billion SR 520, I-5 to Montlake bridge replacement in Seattle.
Nonresidential
Nonresidential building starts rose 2 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $470 billion.
According to Dodge Construction Network, commercial starts were 43 percent higher in November thanks to an increase in data center, warehouse and parking garage starts. Institutional starts, meanwhile, fell 9 percent following a strong gain in October.
Manufacturing starts, which posted a gain in October, fell 52 percent.
On a year-to-date basis through November, total nonresidential starts are up 4 percent. Institutional starts are 17 percent higher while commercial starts are up 5 percent. Manufacturing starts are 33 percent lower on a year-to-date basis through November.
Dodge Construction Network says the largest nonresidential building projects to break ground in November were the $3.4 billion Brooklyn Detention Facility in Boerum Hill, New York, the $1.4 billion AWS Amazon data center in Ridgeland, Mississippi, and the $750 million Frontier Scientific cold storage facility in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Residential
Residential building starts fell 1 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $371 billion.
According to Dodge Construction Network, single-family starts rose 5 percent while multifamily starts were down 12 percent.
Through 11 months of 2024, total residential starts are 7 percent higher. Single-family starts increased 15 percent in that time, while multifamily starts fell 9 percent.
The largest multifamily structures to break ground in November were the $675 million Utopia Living apartments in Flushing, New York, the $312 million Calyer Place residential building in Greenpoint, New York, and the $235 million Hoboken Connect mixed-use development in Hoboken, New Jersey.
