News

2009 Construction Starts Estimated at $463.1 Billion, Down 15%2009-04-06
 

New York, NY – April 2, 2009 – McGraw-Hill Construction, part of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), has released its 2009 Construction Outlook Spring Update, providing updated 2009 forecasts of construction starts for various project types.

The major findings of the forecast, authored by Robert Murray, vice president of economic affairs for McGraw-Hill Construction, include:

  • New construction starts for 2009 are estimated at $463.1 billion, down 15%, but cushioned by support provided by the recently enacted stimulus legislation, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
  • Public works will see the most immediate benefit from the stimulus act, with construction starts climbing 10%, including a 15% rise for highways and bridges. Without the stimulus funding, it is estimated that public works in 2009 would have fallen 10%, restrained by the deteriorating fiscal health of state and local governments.
  • Institutional building in 2009 will retreat 6%, as the weak financial environment takes its toll on educational and healthcare facilities. The stimulus funding will provide a lift to military facilities and energy upgrades for federal buildings, which will moderate this year’s overall institutional decline.
  • Commercial building in 2009 will drop 27%, steeper than the 17% slide reported last year. The tight lending environment has made it extremely difficult to obtain project financing, leading to more projects being deferred or cancelled. All commercial project types will register declines in 2009, with the most severe retrenchment anticipated for hotel construction.
  • Residential building in 2009 will drop an additional 31%, continuing the downward trend that’s been underway since 2006. Similar declines are expected for single family housing (down 30%) and multifamily housing (down 31%). Steps taken in early 2009 to address the foreclosure problem should help to ease the rate of descent for housing as 2009 progresses.
“The construction industry is facing divergent forces in 2009,” said Robert Murray, vice president of economic affairs, McGraw-Hill Construction. “The economy has weakened substantially, and despite all the efforts last fall directed at thawing frozen credit markets, there’s yet to be any sign that lending conditions for construction have improved. On the plus side, the federal stimulus bill is now in place, which will provide quick support to public works this year.”

The McGraw-Hill Construction Outlook is a mainstay of business planning for construction and manufacturing industry executives. Later this month, local Economic Stimulus and Recovery Watch Strategic Briefings will dig deeper into these statistics and issues to provide regionally relevant analysis and intelligence in San Diego (April 3), Houston (April 15), Chicago (April 22) and Atlanta (April 24).
 
About McGraw-Hill Construction
McGraw-Hill Construction connects people, projects and products across the design and construction industry. For more than a century, the Company has remained North America’s leading provider of construction project information, plans and specifications, product information, industry news, and industry trends and forecasts. In print and online, the Company offers a variety of tools, applications, and resources that easily integrate with its customers’ workflows. Backed by the power of Dodge, Sweets, Architectural Record, Engineering News-Record (ENR), GreenSource, HQ and 11 regional publications, McGraw-Hill Construction serves more than one million customers within the $4.6 trillion global construction community. To learn more, visit www.construction.com.
 
About The McGraw-Hill Companies
Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2008 were $6.4 billion. Additional information is available at www.mcgraw-hill.com.
« back
 
 

 



Eastern White Pine VS. Radiata Pine. Learn about these two species in a side by side comparison. Who will be victorious?

 

Founded in 1933, the Northeastern Lumber Manufacturer's Association (NELMA) is one of seven lumber rules writing agencies in the U.S. accredited by the American Lumber Standard Committee (ALSC) to write grade rules that are certified as conforming to the American Softwood Lumber Standard PS20.  NELMA is the official author and administrator of the grading rules for Eastern White Pine, in particular.

In addition to the quality control inspection audits we conduct at lumber manufacturers to ensure that on-grade Eastern White Pine products are meeting the needs of consumers, NELMA develops and distributes an array of technical information and unique promotional materials via our member-driven marketing program.  We encourage you to browse through the pages of this website and discover why Eastern White Pine is the very best choice when wood is considered, both environmentally sustainable and application versatile.