Steel Markets
April 23, 2019
Weak Housing Construction Report for March
Written by Sandy Williams
Housing starts showed continued weakness in March, dipping 0.3 percent from February’s downwardly revised data to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,139,000. Housing starts were 14.2 percent below the rate in March 2018.
Single-family home starts dipped 0.4 percent from the previous month to the lowest level since September 2016. Starts for multi-dwelling homes of five units or more slid 3.4 percent. Total starts declined in the Northeast, Midwest and South, but jumped 31.4 percent in the West. Single-family starts rose 18.8 percent in the Northeast and 13.9 percent in the West. A decline of 21.2 percent was seen in the Midwest and 2.8 percent in the South.
