Future construction sputters in June

The value of construction contracts fell from previous months.

In June, the total value of future construction contracts fell from both the previous month and the same month last year. But that's mainly because of commercial and highway work, which plummeted. Housing construction actually improved.

Future construction contracts totaled $114.3 million in New Hampshire in June — practically half the $222.7 million in contracts recorded in June of last year. It's also a 29 percent decrease from the $160.5 million recorded in May, according to industry information service McGraw-Hill Construction, which releases the figures each month.

In June, the value of both nonresidential and nonbuilding construction contracts fell dramatically year over year. Nonresidential contracts totaled $44.1 million in June, a 68 percent drop from the $136.4 million recorded last June.And nonbuilding contracts — for things like bridges, roads, and highways — fell by nearly as much, dropping nearly two-thirds from $31 million in June 2011 to $11.1 million in June 2012.

The only construction sector that saw a year-over-year gain in total contracts was residential, which rose 7 percent from $55.3 million in June 2011 to $59.6 million in June 2012.Year to date, the value of future construction contracts is down 15 percent from last year.

Total future construction contracts were $907.1 million through June 2011, compared with $771.3 million through June 2012.That's mostly because of a very significant drop in nonresidential construction contracts. For the first half of the 2012, they totaled $214.4 million — a 59 percent drop from the first half of 2011, when nonresidential contracts totaled $517.1 million.

Nonbuilding contracts, on the other hand, have seen a significant year-to-date rise, from $168.3 million in the first half of 2011 to $342.2 million in the same period of 2012.Residential contracts, meanwhile, have stayed mostly on par with last year's pace, totaling $221.8 million through June 2011, compared with $214.8 million through June 2012.