Red-hot construction

Construction put-in-place is on a record pace as the year winds down, according to Ken Simonson, Chief Economist for the Associated General Contractors of America. The value of construction put in place set a record of $1.15 trillion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, up 0.2 percent from October. "For the first 11 months of 2005, total construction was nine percent higher than in same months of 2004," Simonson says. "Private residential construction grew 11 percent, public construction, eight percent, and private nonresidential, five percent. "The leading categories have been multi-retail (general merchandise, shopping centers, and shopping malls), up 25 percent year-to-date; manufacturing construction, 23 percent; private multifamily, 21 percent; hospitals, 13 percent; private single-family, 12 percent; and highways and streets, 11 percent." Your comment?