New construction starts in April dropped 15 percent to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of $685.2 billion, following a 16 percent advancement in March, according to Dodge Data & Analytics.
Both nonbuilding construction and nonresidential building suffered declines of 31 percent and 18 percent, respectively, marking steep drops in two of the three main construction sectors. Residential building in April, meanwhile, decreased a more modest 1 percent.
Total construction starts in the first four months of 2019, on an unadjusted basis, were $224.5 billion, a decrease of 8 percent compared to the same period in 2018. On a 12-month moving total basis, total construction starts for the 12 months ending in April held steady with the previous 12 months ending in April 2018, according to Dodge Data & Analytics.
April’s Dodge Index reading fell to 145, down from 171 in March, producing an average index reading of 158 for the two months combined, which is above the average for January and February combined (150) but still below the 171 average for all of 2018.
“The construction start statistics can be volatile on a month-to-month basis, and that’s certainly been true in March and April as a 16 percent jump was followed by a 15 percent decline,” says Robert Murray, chief economist for Dodge Data & Analytics. “Much of the volatility can be attributed to the presence or absence of large projects – in March there were 10 projects valued each at $500 million or more that reached groundbreaking while April saw only two such projects.”