Nonresidential Construction Grows 19% in November

Nonresidential construction starts increased 19 percent in November, while residential construction fell 7 percent and nonbuilding construction dropped 14 percent, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. The gains in nonresidential aren’t enough to make up for steep declines throughout 2020. Through the first 11 months of 2020, the segment is down 25 percent.

“November construction starts were somewhat of a mixed bag,” stated Richard Branch, chief economist for Dodge Data & Analytics. “On the positive side, the gain in nonresidential building starts shows that the recovery from the early months of the pandemic remains on course. If not for the start of a very large bridge and tunnel project in October, nonbuilding starts would actually have posted a tepid gain in November. And despite the November decline in single family starts, tremendous positive momentum remains in the housing sector. There remains significant concern, however, about the ability of construction starts to maintain their current pace in the face of rising COVID-19 cases, the uncertain outlook for additional federal stimulus, and the lack of agreement on funding the federal government past Dec. 18. While the near-term outlook for starts remains cloudy, the recent deployment of a vaccine in the U.S. raises hope and expectation that 2021 will be a better year.”