Sources: Associated Builders & Contractors, Washington, D.C.; CP staff
Prices for inputs to construction materials expanded 1.3 percent in April and are 6.4 percent higher than at the same time one year ago, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The figures are the largest respective month-over-month and year-over-year increases since 2015 and 2011.
Read MoreSource: Dodge Data & Analytics, New York
Total construction starts on an unadjusted basis reached $336 billion during the first six months of this year, up 23 percent from the same period in 2014, Dodge Data & Analytics reports. Excluding electric utility and gas plant category activity, figures for the first half of 2015 would be up a more moderate 11 percent from the same period a year ago.
Read MoreSource: McGraw Hill Construction, New York
New construction starts in March advanced 7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $521.4 billion, based on measurements of three major sectors: 1) nonresidential building, which picked up the pace after its lackluster performance at the outset of this year; 2) nonbuilding construction, logging a moderate gain; and, residential building, which settled back as single-family housing remained sluggish.
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