Every two weeks, we prepare a report focused on understanding market intelligence and analyzing construction industry data and trends.
This in-depth report is developed primarily for internal distribution, but because we want to keep construction professionals like you informed about the industry, we make this report available to anyone who's interested in reading it.
What's New In This Report?
Highlights
The ABI remained slightly above 50 (neutral) in October 2018 at 50.4 points. Most of the regions and sectors remained above 50, with the Midwest region and Mixed Practice sector in the lead.
In November 2018, the Housing Market Index (HMI) was at 60 with decreased performance in the Current, Future and Traffic components of the index.
Construction Update
In October 2018, housing permits reflected an annual rate of 1.26M, a 6.0% decrease from its year-ago rate with both Single-Family and Multi-Family showing yearly decreases.
Housing starts in October 2018 were 2.9% below their year-ago rate. Single-Family was down annually by 2.6% at 865K starts, and Multi-Family was down 3.7% at 363K starts.
The Construction Industry Round Table (CIRT) Sentiment Index for Q3 2018 was 70.7, down from the Q2 score of 75.
Economic Update
In October 2018, construction final demand prices and construction industry goods saw growth of 4.7% and 7.9%, respectively, from their year-ago values.
CPI-U, which measures inflation, increased by 0.3% in October 2018, after rising 0.1% in September 2018.
