October Construction Jumps 12 Percent

The value of new construction starts advanced 12 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $469.8 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction (MHC) in New York, a division of The McGraw-Hill Cos. Much of the upward push came from nonresidential building, which was lifted by the start of a massive manufacturing project, as well as by broader strengthening across several structure types. Also contributing to the total construction gain in October was a slight increase for the housing sector. Meanwhile, nonbuilding construction in October stayed even with its elevated September amount, helped by the start of several large electric power plants. Through the first 10 months of 2011, total construction on an unadjusted basis came in at $355.6 billion, down 3 percent from the same period a year ago.  Read more