Housing Starts Fall 13.1% in November

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ousing starts in the United States plummeted 13.1% in November, the biggest decline in almost 11 years, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

Starts fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.771 million units in November from an upwardly revised 2.039 million pace a month earlier. In Janurary 1994, starts fell by 17%.

Falling construction likely means less business for flatbed trucking companies that haul building materials. Also, in the case of home construction, dry van freight can see a decrease in demand for the delivery of household appliances and furniture.

Economists expected starts to fall only to a 1.980 million unit pace, Reuters reported. Commerce said starts fell 14.2% in the Northeast, 19.4% in the Midwest, 13.2% in the West and 10.4% in the South.

Permits for future groundbreaking, an indicator of future activity, dipped 1.5% to a 1.988 million unit pace.

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