Value of U.S. Project Construction Starts in January Down First Time Since May 2021

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The overall value of U.S. project construction starts was down 17.4% in January from a year earlier, although some industries such as Chemical Processing and Pharmaceutical & Biotech saw significant increases, according to Industrial Info's spending index. This is the first time since May 2021 that the year-over-year values were lower.

Construction starts amounted to nearly $14.3 billion last month, down from nearly $17.3 billion in January 2021. Spending decreases were seen in six of the 12 industries tracked by Industrial Info, including Power, Oil & Gas Terminals, Pipelines and others.

Rising costs, supply-chain issues and skilled labor shortages have been cited as reasons for the drop.

To put the latest numbers in perspective, the U.S. construction starts spending index in January 2021 was down 20.6% from a year earlier, while spending in January 2020 was up 42.4% year over year.

Meanwhile, chemical processing construction starts had an investment value of $915.55 million, up 279.5% year over year.

Among those starts was Spiber Incorporated's (Tsuruoka, Yamagata, Japan) brownfield polymers plant in Clinton, Iowa. The facility will produce an unspecified amount of brewed protein polymers. In a press release, the company said the operations will expand production of its plant-based polymers, such as spider silk used in clothing and other consumer products. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Chemical Processing Project Database can click here for a detailed project report.

In Pasadena, Texas, construction has kicked off on Stepan Company's (NYSE:SCL) (Northbrook, Illinois) surfactants-to-alkoxylation plant retrofit and restart. The plant ceased production in 2015. Plans call for the project's completion in early 2023. Subscribers can click here for a project report.

In Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Plug Power Incorporated (NASDAQ:PLUG) (Latham, New York) began construction last month on a 15-metric-ton-per-day green hydrogen plant, which will produce hydrogen via water electrolysis. Subscribers can learn more by clicking here.

The total investment value of Pharmaceutical & Biotech Industry construction starts also increased year over year in January, rising 53.2% to $3.9 billion. Among the pharma-bio projects to start construction last month was FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation's (Minato City, Tokyo, Japan) "Project Galaxy," an end-to-end biopharmaceuticals monoclonal antibodies contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) plant in Holly Springs, North Carolina. The more than 2 million-square-foot facility will produce monoclonal antibodies and mammalian cell cultures of bulk drug substances with aseptic fill/finish, device assembly (syringes), packaging and labeling services. Subscribers can learn more by clicking here.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn.