Construction Contracts Hold During August

The amount of new construction contracts in the United States was virtually unchanged in August from the previous month, according to a private study released Wednesday.

New construction contracts totaled $244.27 billion last month, compared to $245.36 billion in July, according to the F. W. Dodge Group of McGraw-Hill Information Services Co., a business information company.

The level of housing contracts and nonresidential building contracts was unchanged from July, and nonbuilding, or public works, construction contracts dipped slightly, Dodge said.

Housing contracts totaled $115.79 billion in August, compared to July’s $115.5 billion, while nonresidential building contracts totaled $88.7 billion, compared to $88.91 billion a month earlier.

Public works construction contracts slipped to $39.78 billion from $40.95 billion the previous month.

For the first eight months of 1988, new construction totaled $170.07 billion, down 3% from $174.49 billion during the same period a year earlier, Dodge said.

Construction contracting declined sharply in the early part of this year before stabilizing in the spring and summer.

George A. Christie, chief economist at Dodge, warned that another downturn is inevitable because of the recent surge in interest rates.