A new report from Dodge Data & Analytics, titled the “2016 Dodge Construction Outlook,” predicts total U.S. construction starts for 2016 to rise 6 percent to $712 billion. The forecast follows a 9 percent gain in new construction starts in 2014 and an estimated 13 percent gain in 2015.
According to the report, these sectors will experience gains in 2016:
- Single-family housing, with a 20 percent rise in dollars
- Multifamily housing, with a 7 percent increase in dollars
- Commercial building, with an 11 percent rise
- Institutional building, with a 9 percent increase
The following sectors will decrease, as forecasted in the report, in 2016:
- Manufacturing plant construction, with a 1 percent decrease
- Electric utilities and gas plants, with a 43 percent decline
Additionally, the public works sector will remain flat with its 2015 amount, says the report.
“The expansion for the construction industry has been underway for several years now, with varying contributions from each of the major sectors,” says Robert Murray, chief economist for Dodge Data & Analytics. “Total construction activity, as measured by the construction starts data, is on track this year to record the strongest annual gain so far in the current expansion, advancing 13 percent.”
