As one of the craziest summers in our nation's history comes to an end, the big story remains the Covid-19 virus and the effects on the economy. While the pandemic has left many industries like restaurants reeling, construction seems resilient to the effects of the Coronavirus.
According to Dodge Data and Analytics, total construction starts rose 19 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $793.3 billion in the three major building sectors.
Nonresidential building starts rose 16 percent in August, and residential building climbed 12 percent. Non-building construction jumped 40 percent higher than July starts.
The largest non-building project to break ground in August was the $1.3 billion Wastewater Control Plant in San Francisco.
The largest nonresidential building project started in August was the $1.0 billion Facebook Data Center in Gallatin, Tennessee.
The largest residential structure to break ground in August was the $549 million Mana’olana Place in Hawaii.
Numbers are lower from 2019 overall, seeing a 14 percent decrease in 2020. Nonresidential starts are down 24 percent but residential starts were only down about a percent.
This of course is directly related to the unprecedented shutdown of the U.S. in the early months of the pandemic, however, the construction landscape seems to be regaining momentum.
ConEquip Parts has actually seen an increase in parts requests, setting sales records over the summer, which is a good sign construction is still going strong.
