Total construction starts fell 21% month-to-month in December. According to Dodge Data & Analytics, the sharp decline was largely due to the hefty gains posted in November in the utility and manufacturing categories. Without those two figured in, total construction starts only dropped 3% last month.

When looking at the major sectors, with utility and manufacturing back in the mix, nonbuilding starts declined 41%, nonresidential building starts lost 20% and residential starts slipped 4% over the month.

The poor monthly performance pushed the Dodge Index down to 169 compared to the 213 posted in November, but just below the 12-month average of 174.

 
For the full year, total construction starts were essentially flat when compared to 2018 as nonbuilding starts grew 7% due to large gains in utilities, nonresidential starts slid 1% and residential starts decreased 3%. But, removing the massive 112% gain in utility starts from the total would result in total construction declining 3% from the previous year.

"(2019) will go down as one of the most volatile years for monthly construction starts due the lumpy nature of large projects," stated Richard Branch, chief economist of Dodge Data & Analytics. "Looking beyond the influence of these massive projects, it is evident that the uncertainty surrounding trade policy weighed on construction activity last year."

In the nonbuilding sector, the only category to post a monthly gain was environmental public works, which was up 1%. Starts of electric utility/gas plants fell 76%, while highway and bridge starts dropped 18% and miscellaneous nonbuilding starts lost 17% from November to December.

For the full year of 2019, environmental public works gained 4%, while miscellaneous nonbuilding fell 19%. and highway and bridge starts dropped 8%.

In nonresidential building in December, there was a 93% plummet in manufacturing after a large petrochemical plant broke ground in November. Institutional starts increased 6% fueled by gains in healthcare and recreation and commercial starts rose 5% in December due to solid gains in warehouses and parking structures.

For the full year, commercial building starts grew 6% due to gains in warehouses and offices, while institutional starts fell 5% with activity in all major categories seeing a pull back and manufacturing starts fell 15%. in 2019.

In the residential building sector, single family starts lost 7% for the month, while multifamily posted a 1% gain from November.

For the full year, single family starts ended down 1%, while multifamily starts lost 7%.