Values Fall but Numbers Climb for August Project Starts

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Construction began on North American projects worth a combined $157.8 billion in August, down 14.7% from the same month in 2015, according to Industrial Info's construction starts data. However, the number of construction starts in August totaled 6,663, up 11.9% from a year earlier.

Still reeling from the drop in oil prices, the Oil & Gas Production Industry saw $5.8 billion in projects that started construction in August, down 81.5% from $31.7 billion that began in August 2015. Construction kicked off on 277 North American Oil & Gas projects in August, down from 302 projects a year earlier. For related information, see September 1, 2016, article - Postcards from the Edge: What the Oil & Gas Industry Learned from the Downturn.

The Chemical Processing Industry also experienced a substantial decline in the planned spending on projects that kicked off construction in August, dropping 52% to $8.2 billion from $17.1 billion in the same month a year earlier. But the number of starts last month rose to 713 from 677 a year earlier.

The Metals & Minerals Industry, which has been hard hit by the continued slump in commodities prices, saw the overall value of project kickoffs drop 21.7% to $9.1 billion. The number of Metals & Minerals projects that began construction in August rose 18%.

On the positive side, the Food & Beverage Industry saw a rise in both value and project count, with the value of projects starting last month rising 29.9% to $10.2 billion, while the number of kickoffs rose 22.6%.

Projects that kicked off in the U.S. last month totaled $126.3 billion in value, down 14.9% from a year earlier. Canada saw the project value drop 8.5% to $17.8 billion, and project kickoffs in Mexico fell 20.3% to $13.2 billion.

For related information, see September 20, 2016, article - North America Sees Planned Project Spending Plummet 11% from Year Earlier.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 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. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com/.