Non-residential building surged 53% in October

Weak results for construction in September were replaced with a strong gain in October.

Combined residential and non-residential construction was up 21% in October following a drop of 22% in September to a seasonally adjusted $864 billion according to figures from Dodge Data & Analytics.

Non-residential building in October surged 53% ($184 billion annual rate), as several very large projects lifted the manufacturing plant, office building, and transportation terminal categories; while residential building ($321.7 billion annual rate) in October edged up a slight 2%, helped by improvement for multifamily housing (up 15%).

During 2018, the presence of very large projects in a given month has played a considerable role in shaping the monthly pattern of activity, and in October it was non-residential building that especially benefitted from the start of very large projects,” stated Robert A. Murray, chief economist for Dodge Data & Analytics.

“As for residential building, multifamily housing has shown renewed expansion this year after settling back in 2017, yet a more cautious lending stance by banks towards multifamily development may dampen multifamily construction starts next year,” added Murray.