The U.S. Commerce Department estimated construction put in place during August at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.015 trillion, which is a 0.8 percent increase from July. The 2004 August estimate represents a 10 percent escalation from the August 2003 estimate of $922 billion.
The largest growth occurred in the private sector, totaling $777.7 billion for August, which is a 1.4 percent increase from the previous month. Public construction starts also increased from July to August, with an increase of approximately 1 percent. Nonresidential construction increased 0.8 percent during the one-month period.
Office construction projects decreased during the month to an adjusted annual rate of $44.6 billion, below July’s rate of $45 billion. Highway and street construction projects also dropped off, falling 2.9 percent from July to August. The total value for transportation-related projects dropped only slightly, to a rate of $26 billion — a 1 percent decrease from July.
