Regional Non-residential Building Starts
The accompanying table, based on Reed Construction Data’s (RCD) record of regional construction starts in full-year 2007 versus full-year 2006, shows that the West (+21.5%) led in terms of percentage gain in the non-residential building category. Right up to the present, many of the states with the tightest labor markets in the country continue to be in the West.

The Midwest (+13.1%) and South (+12.4%) had gains in non-residential building starts that were quite similar, while the Northeast recorded a decline (-6.8%). The Northeast is the most intensely built-up region in the country in the non-residential building category.

In terms of the actual dollar volume of non-residential building starts in 2007, the South was way ahead ($81.5 billion), followed by the West ($54.7 billion), the Midwest ($43.6 billion) and the Northeast ($31.6 billion). The South’s standing in this market is similar to its traditional dominant role among the regions in residential starts, where it usually accounts for double the activity level of the next closest region.

Regional Heavy Engineering Starts
Among regional percentage increases in heavy engineering work, the leader was the Northeast (+36.5%). The only other region with a large gain in 2007 versus 2006 was the West (+26.8%). The South (+3.2%) had only a marginal increase and the Midwest (-7.7%) trailed the pack with a decline.

The ranking in terms of the actual dollar volume of heavy engineering starts was the same as for non-residential buildings, with first place going to the South ($32.1 billion), followed by the West ($24.3 billion), the Midwest ($17.1 billion) and the Northeast ($14.6 billion).