http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/ en rcdwebmaster@reedconstructiondata.com Copyright 2009 2009-11-20T18:00:00-05:00 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/which-states-will-lead-the-construction-recovery/?nid=4267 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/which-states-will-lead-the-construction-recovery/#When:18:00:00Z Led by California and Texas, twenty states account for more than 75% of the US construction market. The projected recovery in the construction market early next year must be driven by a significant improvement in a large share of these key states. A pickup in construction activity in the thirty smaller states would not be sufficient to set off a national market recovery, says Reed Construction Data chief economist Jim Haughey. Market Insights, Construction Forecasts, Economy & Finance, Connections, US, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wyoming 2009-11-20T18:00:00-05:00 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/declining-domestic-materials-demand-drops-october-construction-price/?nid=4267 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/declining-domestic-materials-demand-drops-october-construction-price/#When:15:00:00Z The construction materials price index fell 0.2% in October but remains 0.5% higher than three months ago. The price trend ahead is for modest increases into the winter and then larger monthly increases for the rest of 2010. Monthly price changes into the winter will more likely be up than down but the net price rise will be small until domestic demand for construction materials is again rising steadily, says Reed Construction Data chief economist Jim Haughey. Market Insights, Economy & Finance, Connections, RSMeans, US 2009-11-19T15:00:00-05:00 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/us-housing-starts-take-a-bad-turn-in-october-probably-due-to-tax-credit-unc/?nid=4267 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/us-housing-starts-take-a-bad-turn-in-october-probably-due-to-tax-credit-unc/#When:21:10:00Z U.S.  housing starts took an unexpected bad turn in October to record an annualized rate of only 529,000 units versus their almost 600,000-unit level of the previous four months. The latest month-to-month drop was probably caused by uncertainty over the future of the first-time homebuyers’ tax credit. It was due to run out on November 30th. Builders were being cautious in anticipating that demand for new housing would be adversely affected. The Obama administration has just recently extended the program through April 2010. Market Insights, Housing, US 2009-11-18T21:10:00-05:00 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/us-and-canada-move-away-from-deflation-in-october/?nid=4267 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/us-and-canada-move-away-from-deflation-in-october/#When:20:00:00Z There is much to be said for viewing the economy as some out-of-step version of a metronome, moving back and forth according to its own internal rhythm. It may stray a considerable distance in one direction or another, but it does always return to a “norm”. Many key financial and statistical indicators are now in the process of doing just that, moving back towards more central positions. The latest Consumer Price Index results in the U.S. and Canada are cases in point. Market Insights, Economy & Finance, US, CAN 2009-11-18T20:00:00-05:00 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/october-construction-starts-up-but-less-than-usual-seasonal-gain/?nid=4267 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/october-construction-starts-up-but-less-than-usual-seasonal-gain/#When:16:30:00Z Reed Construction Data announced today that the year-to-date value of construction starts through October 2009, excluding residential contracts, totaled $209.7 billion, 10.1% less than in the same period in 2008. Individual month of October starts were 6.5% higher than September so the latest month total was about a 3% decline after seasonal adjustment. October 2009 starts were about 3% below last October. Starts remain well above the depressed June total but continue to slip slowly lower, says Reed Construction Data chief economist Jim Haughey. Market Insights, Construction Starts, Connections, RSMeans, End Use Types, Civil, Commercial, Governmental, Medical, Residential, US 2009-11-18T16:30:00-05:00 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/canadian-manufacturing-and-us-retail-sales-show-recent-improvements/?nid=4267 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/canadian-manufacturing-and-us-retail-sales-show-recent-improvements/#When:17:00:00Z According to a report released by Statistics Canada today, nation-wide manufacturing sales in September were -18.6% compared with the same month a year ago.  However, a more recent improvement has been underway since May. On a month-to-month basis, Canadian manufacturing sales in September were +1.4% versus August. This was almost entirely due to an improvement in the motor vehicles category (+16.4% month to month). Also today, U.S. retail sales figures for October were made public. Again, it was the auto sector in the forefront.  Total U.S. retail sales were +1.4% month over month and auto and parts sales were +7.4%. Market Insights, Economy & Finance, US, CAN 2009-11-16T17:00:00-05:00 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/us-and-canadian-foreign-trade-look-more-familiar-but-important-changes-are-/?nid=4267 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/us-and-canadian-foreign-trade-look-more-familiar-but-important-changes-are-/#When:19:18:00Z The nature of economic recovery will see the U.S. goods and services trade deficit worsen in the months ahead. However, there are several factors that may limit the size of the deterioration in the deficit versus previous performance levels. First among these will be currency devaluation. In Canada, even when the trade position shifts over to a positive balance, it may have trouble returning to its former lofty heights. Such an outcome may be the fallout from natural gas prices staying depressed and the loonie continuing to climb versus the greenback. Market Insights, Economy & Finance, US, CAN 2009-11-13T19:18:00-05:00 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/baby-steps-on-the-road-to-world-recovery-us-jobless-claims-and-the-chinese-/?nid=4267 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/baby-steps-on-the-road-to-world-recovery-us-jobless-claims-and-the-chinese-/#When:20:00:00Z Initial U.S. jobless claims were down again in the latest weekly report. They dropped by 12,000 and now stand at their lowest level since the first week in January of this year. Continuing claims were also lower (-139,000) and are now back to where they were in March. Some analysts have concluded that initial jobless claims at a level of 500,000, which is about their current position, combined with an unemployment rate of around 10%, point to an imminent end to job layoffs. This does not mean a quick end to problems in U.S. labor markets.p> Market Insights, Economy & Finance, US, CAN 2009-11-12T20:00:00-05:00 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/texas-cities-remain-top-single-family-housing-markets/?nid=4267 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/texas-cities-remain-top-single-family-housing-markets/#When:15:20:00Z Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio account for 36% of single family housing starts in the twenty largest metro housing markets. Phoenix, Tampa and Riverside, Orlando and Los Angeles are the only housing boom cities still left on the top twenty list. Washington has moved up to third place on the strength of tens of thousands of new federal jobs, says Reed Construction Data chief economist Jim Haughey. Market Insights, Construction Forecasts, Housing, Connections, End Use Types, Residential, US 2009-11-12T15:20:00-05:00 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/us-metro-housing-markets-october-2009-cities-301-361/?nid=4267 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/us-metro-housing-markets-october-2009-cities-301-361/#When:15:16:00Z This chart features U.S. Housing Permits per 1,000 population based on the latest 12 months and residential permits for cities ranked 301-361. Market Insights, Construction Forecasts, Housing, Connections, End Use Types, Residential, US 2009-11-12T15:16:00-05:00 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/us-metro-housing-markets-october-2009-cities-201-300/?nid=4267 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/us-metro-housing-markets-october-2009-cities-201-300/#When:15:14:00Z This chart features U.S. Housing Permits per 1,000 population based on the latest 12 months and residential permits for cities ranked 201-300. Market Insights, Construction Forecasts, Housing, Connections, End Use Types, Residential, US 2009-11-12T15:14:00-05:00 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/us-metro-housing-markets-october-2009-cities-101-200/?nid=4267 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/us-metro-housing-markets-october-2009-cities-101-200/#When:15:12:00Z This chart features U.S. Housing Permits per 1,000 population based on the latest 12 months and residential permits for cities ranked 101-200. Market Insights, Construction Forecasts, Housing, Connections, End Use Types, Residential, US 2009-11-12T15:12:00-05:00 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/us-metro-housing-markets-october-2009-cities-1-100/?nid=4267 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/us-metro-housing-markets-october-2009-cities-1-100/#When:15:10:00Z This chart features U.S. Housing Permits per 1,000 population based on the latest 12 months and residential permits for cities ranked 1-100. Market Insights, Construction Forecasts, Housing, Connections, End Use Types, Residential, US 2009-11-12T15:10:00-05:00 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/houstons-economy-should-bloom-in-2010-providing-it-doesnt-run-out-of-energy/?nid=4267 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/houstons-economy-should-bloom-in-2010-providing-it-doesnt-run-out-of-energy/#When:14:00:00Z Although Houston’s unemployment rate (8.5%) is below the national average (10.2%) and it lost fewer jobs (-3.0% year over year versus -4.2%), the Magnolia City has been hit hard by recession. Market Insights, Major City Snapshots, US, Texas 2009-11-12T14:00:00-05:00 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/milwaukees-economy-should-start-to-brew-by-mid-2010/?nid=4267 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/milwaukees-economy-should-start-to-brew-by-mid-2010/#When:13:45:00Z Based on the fact that employment in Milwaukee contracted by 6.1% in September, faster than all but three of the 50 largest metro areas in the U.S., it is clear that the Brew City is still firmly in the grips of recession.  Market Insights, Major City Snapshots, US, Wisconsin 2009-11-12T13:45:00-05:00 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/construction-materials-market-begins-slow-recovery/?nid=4267 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/construction-materials-market-begins-slow-recovery/#When:13:34:01Z Construction materials production inched up 0.6% during the summer on the strength of a 0.9% rise in sales and a 1.8% improvement in orders. Inventories held by manufacturers fell a substantial 4.2% but still remain excessive and will be a restraint on production growth into the winter, says Reed Construction Data chief economist Jim Haughey. Market Insights, Costs & Materials, Economy & Finance, Connections, RSMeans, US 2009-11-12T13:34:01-05:00 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/expect-an-extended-period-of-weak-materials-pricing1/?nid=4267 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/expect-an-extended-period-of-weak-materials-pricing1/#When:15:40:01Z There is not yet a consensus on three key components of the economic environment for construction in 2009. One is the impact of the new President and the new Congress. A second is the cost of crude oil and natural gas that are the raw commodity source of many construction materials as well as key determinants of income and confidence, says Reed Construction Data chief economist Jim Haughey. Market Insights, Costs & Materials, Economy & Finance, Connections, RSMeans, US 2009-11-10T15:40:01-05:00 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/housing-recovery-will-get-a-boost-from-extended-home-buyer-tax-credit/?nid=4267 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/housing-recovery-will-get-a-boost-from-extended-home-buyer-tax-credit/#When:13:35:00Z New home construction has been approximately steady since the large jump in June spurred by federal pump priming with the $8,000 first time buyer tax credit and a variety of programs to delay foreclosures and reduce monthly mortgage payments for existing homeowners. Resumed recovery is expected around yearend with an extension and expansion of the homebuyer tax credit, says Reed Construction Data chief economist Jim Haughey. Market Insights, Housing, Connections, RSMeans, End Use Types, Residential, US 2009-11-10T13:35:00-05:00 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/recession-ebbs-in-plains-northwest-and-southeast-worsens-in-rocky-mountains/?nid=4267 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/recession-ebbs-in-plains-northwest-and-southeast-worsens-in-rocky-mountains/#When:14:27:01Z Only the Dakotas and Vermont have an expanding economy in the three months ending in September. These small states were impacted very lightly by the housing, mortgage and manufacturing recessions. They are not leading the country out of recession. They simply avoided most of the recession. Market Insights, Construction Forecasts, Economy & Finance, US 2009-11-05T14:27:01-05:00 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/ranking-states-by-recent-economic-performance-september-2009/?nid=4267 http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/11/ranking-states-by-recent-economic-performance-september-2009/#When:06:36:00Z This chart shows the ranking of states by recent economic performance, including data on the last three months (annualized – September) and changes in economic activity for the latest three months (annualized) versus the previous year. Market Insights, Construction Forecasts, Economy & Finance, US 2009-11-05T06:36:00-05:00