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Construction starts are likely to remain volatile in the coming months, despite the recent pick-up in activity, said Richard Branch, chief economist at Dodge Construction Network.
Total construction starts rebounded 10% in July at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.1 trillion, according to Dodge. The resurgence follows a significant decline in June, where total innovations plummeted 19% due to the sharp drop in gas and utility projects.
But activity in infrastructure construction and non-residential sectors such as retail, office and warehouse projects boosted a general recovery in July, which offset the decline in residential construction, the report said.
“Construction starts were very promising in July. However, the short term remains questionable due to high interest rates,” Richard Branch, chief economist at Dodge Construction Network, said in the statement. “The Federal Reserve is likely to cut interest rates in September, which over time will make market conditions more favorable for projects to move forward.”
Here are the top nine projects in the U.S. to start in July:
- Novo Nordisk’s $2.1 billion plant in Clayton, North Carolina.
- The $1.6 billion first phase of the AWS Amazon data center in Canton, Mississippi.
- The $1.5 billion Revolution Wind offshore wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island.
- The $819 million Potomac River Tunnel in Washington, DC
- The $800 million Meta data center in Montgomery, Alabama.
- Northwestern University’s $800 million Ryan Field Stadium in Evanston, Illinois.
- The $300 million Music Row Albion apartment towers in Nashville, Tennessee.
- The $254 million Commodore Perry Apartments in Buffalo, New York.
- The $250 million One Tampa condominiums in Tampa, Florida.
Annual growth
According to Dodge, total construction starts rose 6% in the first seven months of the year compared to the same period in 2023.
Non-residential starts were up 5%, while residential innovators were up 11%. Non-building starts in the first seven months of the year were unchanged from last year.
On a monthly basis, nonresidential construction starts improved 25% in July, largely due to strong activity in the manufacturing, data center and hospitality sectors, according to Dodge. Institutional projects, such as healthcare, rose 18% in July due to a strong increase in healthcare starts.
Nonbuilding construction rose 19% in July due to positive activity in all subsectors, including highways, bridges, utility plants and gas plants. On the other hand, residential starts fell 8% in July, largely due to a 13% slowdown in single-family projects, according to Dodge.
