CanaData’s total Canada construction starts statistics remained down on a year-to-date basis in August 2008, versus the same period in 2007. Grand total starts (i.e., residential, plus ICI, plus engineering) for the country as a whole were -21% in both square footage and dollar volume terms.

Through August of this year, total Canada residential starts were -19% in square footage and -16% in dollars, versus the first eight months of last year. CanaData has calculated that single-family starts and multi-unit starts are down about the same amount according to all three principal criteria − units, square feet and dollars. This stands in opposition to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) position that multiples have increased so far this year while singles have declined significantly.

Year-to-date total non-residential building (ICI) starts are about the same (i.e., just as negative) now as they were a month ago, according to CanaData. They currently stand at -26% in square footage and -24% in dollars. The comparable figures after July were -25% and -27% respectively.

The smallest decline among the major ICI sub-categories has been for institutional work (-20% in square footage and -7% in dollars). The square footage of hospital projects (+25% year to date) has recently picked up significantly due to several large projects getting underway in the latest month. The defence and law enforcement category (+88% in square footage year to date) is also well ahead of last year, primarily due to a large remand centre in Edmonton, for which ground was broken in April. Educational projects are -24% so far this year in square footage and -3% in dollars.

Commercial starts are now down about 30% in both square footage and in dollars year to date. Private office buildings are a particular disappointment (-36% in square feet). Some major office building starts in Calgary and Toronto this year have not matched the exceptional level of starts last year (“The Bow” in Calgary and “Bay-Adelaide” in Toronto). Retail starts in square footage are off by about one-quarter and warehouse starts are down close to 40%. Only the hotel and motel category (-5%) has just about held its own versus last year.

Industrial starts are down by a relatively small percentage but the total volume, both last year and this year, has been low. Engineering starts are off by about one-quarter in dollar terms, driven down by a more than 50% decline in electric power plant work. There was a huge Québec hydroelectric project in June’s starts report last year. The important roads category is level with last year and sewer and watermain work (+19% in dollars) has increased slightly.

As for the ten largest project starts in the individual month of August, Ontario was the most active province with five, British Columbia and Québec had two each and Alberta accounted for one. By type of structure, the breakdown was residential and institutional with three each, engineering with two and commercial and industrial contributing one each. Two of the dominant projects were hospital work − the Edmonton Clinic North for the University of Alberta and the Royal Jubilee patient care tower in Victoria.

The “12-month moving total” trend graph has been showing a mild slide in the ICI category since the beginning of this year. The engineering curve appears to be climbing back up after plummeting in the early summer when Québec’s Eastmain hydroelectric project, started in June of last year, dropped out of the moving twelve-month total. The Top 10 starts list and the Trend Graph appear on Reed Construction Data’s Market Insights website channel.

Notes: CanaData’s construction starts are made up of new, addition and alteration work. There are dollar and square footage figures for new and addition work, but not for alterations.

The type of structure breakdowns are residential, non-residential building (also known as ICI to correspond with industrial, commercial and institutional) and engineering. These are all recorded in both dollars and square feet, except for engineering work (e.g., roads and highways, pipelines, electricity projects, etc.), where only dollars make sense.

CanaData, a statistics-gathering and forecasting product line of Reed Construction Data, calculates starts based on RCD’s extensive tracking of projects through all stages of construction.

Alex Carrick

Find Canadian construction-related economic articles in Canadian Construction Market News and in the Economic Outlook section of Daily Commercial News.

For CanaData’s latest square footage construction forecasts, see the Market Insights story dated July 21st.

» View all comments (0 total comments)

Post Your Own Comments

» Not a member? Register now to become one. Otherwise, login to post your comments on this article.

11/19 - Starts remain low in CanaData’s latest forecasts, but there are signs of a pickup in optimism

11/11 - CanaData’s October Construction Starts and Remembering Planned Obsolescence with Some Fondness

11/04 - It’s a World of Opportunities as Economic Thoughts Turn to Recovery

10/28 - Housing markets in Canada and U.S. tell complex stories

10/22 - The Current Grace Period for Construction Costs will Expire within Six Months

» Back to Alex's Blog