WEB EXCLUSIVE<br>Total For 2001 U.S. Construction Activity Reached $485.2 Billion, Up 3% For Year
Increase marks construction's 10th consecutive year of expansion.
While the value of new construction starts in December 2001 dropped 1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $479.9 billion, for all of 2001, total construction advanced 3 percent to $485.2 billion, marking the 10th straight year of expansion, according to F.W. Dodge, a division of The McGraw-Hill Cos.' Construction Information Group.
"The construction industry slipped back during the first half of 2001, but then proved to be one of the more resilient sectors of the economy as the year progressed," stated Robert A. Murray, vice president of economic affairs for F.W. Dodge. "Single-family housing had a very strong 2001, helped by low mortgage rates, and school construction reached a new record high. Public works construction maintained its strengthening trend of recent years, and electric power plant construction continued to surge."