The St. Louis area saw a significant slowing in construction activity as the end of the year approached. According to Dodge Data & Analytics, construction activity in nonresidential building slipped 72 percent in November from the same month a year earlier, construction activity in the residential sector fell 52 percent. (All dollar amounts shown in thousands.)
2016 2015 Change
Nonresidential $61,161 $220,330 – 72%
Residential $116896 $224,404 – 52%
TOTAL $178,027 $464,734 – 62%
The losses in November pulled down numbers for the year. In the first 11 months of 2016, nonresidential construction was off 26 percent compared to 2015, while residential construction was up six percent. As a result, total building construction was down 11 percent on the year. (All dollar amounts shown in thousands.)
2016 2015 Change
Nonresidential $1,463,516 $1,975,477 – 26%
Residential $1,920,042 $1,808,473 +6%
TOTAL $3,383,558 $3,783,950 – 11%
The residential category consists of both single family and multifamily housing. The nonresidential category consists of everything else.