Dodge: Construction starts up 9 percent in February

Total construction starts rose 9 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.013 trillion, according to Dodge Construction Network.

Nonresidential building starts swelled 32 percent due to the start of three large manufacturing facilities, Dodge says. By contrast, residential starts fell 3 percent, and nonbuilding starts fell by less than 1 percent.

Without the three large manufacturing projects, Dodge says total construction would have declined 6 percent in February.

Total construction was 14 percent higher in the first two months of 2022 versus the same stretch of 2021. Nonresidential building starts jumped 39 percent, nonbuilding starts rose 4 percent and residential starts gained 5 percent.

For the 12 months ending February 2022, total construction starts were 16 percent above the 12 months ending February 2021. Nonresidential starts were 23 percent higher, residential starts gained 19 percent and nonbuilding starts were up 1 percent.

“The manufacturing sector has been an important success story for construction since the pandemic began,” says Richard Branch, chief economist at Dodge Construction Network. “Domestic producers are expected to seek more control over their supply chains in the future, so that aspect of construction should continue to flourish. However, as evident in February’s data, other sectors are struggling to gain traction in the face of high material prices and worker shortages. The conflict in Ukraine will continue to put upward pressure on costs, making the sector’s recovery more tenuous in 2022.”