Total construction activity for 1996 advanced six percent to $324.5 billion according to the F.W. Dodge Division of The McGraw-Hill Companies. This follows a three percent gain in 1995, and represents the fifth straight year of moderate increase for the construction industry.

During 1996, single family housing proved to be the industry mainstay, picking up the slack from other sectors of the industry. For 1996 as a whole, residential construction advanced 13 percent to $144.6 billion, supported by the strongest volume of single family housing during the 1990s.