The value of construction put in place in October rose 0.9% from September's upwardly revised total to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $922 billion, the Census Bureau reported today. October's figure was the fifth straight increase and fourth consecutive monthly record. Both private residential and public construction set records, but private nonresidential construction fell to the lowest level in six years. Through the first 10 months of 2003, overall construction was up 3.7% compared to January-October 2002, led by a 9% gain in residential and a 3% rise in public construction, which more than offset a 6% drop in private nonresidential.

“Economic activity in the manufacturing sector grew in November for the fifth consecurtive month, while the overall economy grew for the 25th consecutive month,” according to the monthly survey of manufacturing supply executives released today by the Institute for Supply Management. The ISM's manufacturing index climbed to 62.8 from 57 in October as the new-orders index jumped 9.4 points to the highest level in nearly 20 years, and the production index rose 5.7 points.