search
cart
facebook instagram twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • CONTRACTORS
    • BATH & KITCHEN PRO
    • BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
    • HIGH EFFICIENCY HOMES
    • TECHNOLOGY
    • WATER TREATMENT
    • PMC COLUMNS
      • Dave Yates: Contractor’s Corner
      • John Siegenthaler: Hydronics Workshop
      • Kenny Chapman: The Blue Collar Coach
      • Matt Michel: Service Plumbing Pros
      • Scott Secor: Heating Perceptions
  • ENGINEERS
    • CONTINUING EDUCATION
    • DECARBONIZATION | ELECTRIFICATION
    • FIRE PROTECTION
    • GEOTHERMAL | SOLAR THERMAL
    • PIPING | PLUMBING | PVF
    • PME COLUMNS
      • Christoph Lohr: Strategic Plumbing Insights
      • David Dexter: Plumbing Talking Points
      • James Dipping: Engineer Viewpoints
      • John Seigenthaler: Renewable Heating Design
      • Lowell Manalo: Plumbing Essentials
      • Misty Guard: Guard on Compliance
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
    • RADIANT COMFORT REPORT
    • THE GLITCH & THE FIX
  • INSIGHTS
    • CODES
    • GREEN PLUMBING & MECHANICAL
    • PROJECT PROFILES
    • COLUMNS
      • Codes Corner
      • Natalie Forster: Editorial Opinion
      • Guest Editorial
    • SPONSOR INSIGHTS
  • MEDIA
    • PODCASTS
    • VIDEOS
    • WEBINARS
  • RESOURCES
    • INDUSTRY CALENDAR
    • DIRECTORIES
    • EBOOKS
    • PM BOOKSTORE
    • CE CENTER
    • MARKET RESEARCH
    • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EMAGAZINE
    • EMAGAZINE
    • ARCHIVE ISSUES
    • CONTACT
    • ADVERTISE
    • PME EMAGAZINE ARCHIVES
  • SIGN UP!

Cross-Cutting Trends Are Apparent, AGC Economist Says

By Ken Simonson
April 1, 2003
Construction Put in Place Nearly Matches Prior Month and Year-Ago Levels

"Construction held up well in February despite bad weather and growing caution among businesses and consumers," said Kenneth D. Simonson, Chief Economist for Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), the nation's leading construction trade association. "The total value of construction put in place, as reported by the Census Bureau, was just 0.2% below the revised January total and the February 2002 figure."

The February number, $872 billion seasonally adjusted at annual rates, reflected an 0.6% climb in private residential construction from January, an 0.3% uptick in private nonresidential building construction, and a 2.9% drop in public construction. Compared to February 2002, private residential was up by 10%, private nonresidential buildings were down by 13%, and public construction was off by 5%.

"The contrast among the three subsectors and between the monthly and yearly figures is striking and points to several cross-cutting trends," Simonson said. "Housing is still robust but appears to be cooling off a bit compared to a year ago. In contrast, nonresidential construction may finally be leveling off after a long, steep dive. Public construction appears to have topped out and will contract as budget deficits force cuts."

Simonson remarked, "It is noteworthy that several nonresidential categories performed well for the month, even though only one -- hospital and institutional -- was up compared to February 2002.

"Among detailed categories, communications construction plunged 8.5% and office construction 5% for the month, an even steeper rate of decline than their 25% drops from a year ago. But electric power plant construction was up for the second straight month, by 3.6% and manufacturing construction slipped just 0.4%, much better than their year-over-year declines of 15% and 28%.

"Warehouse construction also posted two gains in a row, rising 5% last month, but it was still down 25% from a year ago. Health care construction grew more than 3% for the month and nearly 13% compared to February 2002."

He added, "I expect manufacturing and warehouse construction to remain pretty flat for the next several months. Office building will probably slip further as vacancy rates and layoffs are still rising. Health care will remain strong, and commercial construction, which edged down 0.1% for the month, will probably bob around its current level.

"Overall, private nonresidential construction is running more on momentum from projects not yet finished than on optimism about an early upturn in the economy."

As for state and local construction, Simonson commented that "the two biggest categories, educational and highway and street, both had a bad month, down 4% and 9%. But I think both will be level or up a bit for the year as a whole. While colleges are cutting back, local elementary and secondary school districts are being helped by recent bond approvals and higher property tax receipts. And highway spending will benefit from the recent federal appropriations bill, which kept federal passthroughs even with last year."

The Census report for February is at www.census.gov/const/www/c30index.html. In addition, Census has posted more detailed data, classified by end user, at www.census.gov/pub/const/C30/newtc.html.

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Chief Economist, Associated General Contractors of America 703-837-5313; fax -5406; www.agc.org

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Worker using the Milwaukee Tool SWITCH PACK drain cleaner

    Pipeline profits: Drain cleaning, pipe inspection create opportunities

    Drain cleaning and inspection services offer lucrative...
    Green Plumbing and Mechanical
    By: Nicole Krawcke
  • Uponor employee, Arturo Moreno

    The reinvestment in American manufacturing and training

    Plumbing & Mechanical Chief Editor Nicole Krawcke and...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke and Natalie Forster
  • March 2024 Women in Plumbing hero image of woman engineer overlayed by circle of hexagon shapes with numbers from 1 to 10

    Celebrating 10 Influential Women in the Plumbing Industry

    Celebrating Women's History Month and Women in...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke
Subscribe For Free!
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service
  • eMagazine
  • Manage My Preferences

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Plumbing & Mechanical audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of Plumbing & Mechanical or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • J.J. Keller CMV vehicles on road
    Sponsored byJ. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.

    The dash cam game-changer for small business safety

Popular Stories

The interior of a government building.

President Trump signs executive order promoting skilled trades and apprenticeships

Figure 1 is a sketch of the flow problems of the current plumbing system.

Hydronic heating glitch solved: Why adding a circulator won't fix primary loop flow issue

Underfloor heating installation with drain sewer hole in bathroom close up on water floor heating.

Using hydronics to leverage time-of-use electrical rates

PM BEMIS June 25 Free Webinar: Optimizing Plumbing Solutions for Single-Family, Multi-Family & Public Spaces

Events

November 13, 2024

Future Proofing MEP: Navigating the 2026 High Efficiency Water Heating Standards

Join our deep dive into DOE’s new standards so you can future-proof your MEP practice.

EARN: 0.1 ASPE CEU; 1 AIA LU/HSW; 0.1 IACET CEU*; 1 PDH

View All Submit An Event

Poll

Will business be up or down in 2025?

Do you anticipate business in 2025 to be up or down in comparison to 2024?
View Results Poll Archive

Products

The Water Came To A Stop

The Water Came To A Stop

See More Products

Download the FREE Water Conservation, Quality & Safety eBook: Plumbing Trends Increasing Safe Water Availability

Related Articles

  • Construction Slips in May But Data Revisions Show Industry Was Stronger than Suspected, AGC Economist Says

    See More
  • Private Nonresidential Construction Inches Up in July But Highway Spending Is in Jeopardy, AGC Economist Says

    See More
  • CONSTRUCTION NEWS:
    Current Construction Data, Indicators for Near Term Tell Tale of Two Industries, AGC Economist Says

    See More
×

Keep your content unclogged with our newsletters!

Stay in the know on the latest plumbing & piping industry trends.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
    • Supply House Times
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing