Housing Starts Rise 11%, Following Previous Decline

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.

ousing starts rose 11% in April, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

The rise turned around a 17.6% drop in March, which had been the biggest decline in 14 years.

The rise brought the annual pace of new housing units to 2.038 million units, Commerce said.

The April numbers were in line with forecasts that this year could be the biggest for home construction since 1978, Bloomberg reported. Analysts had predicted a 2 million-unit pace.

Rising construction likely means more business for flatbed trucking companies that haul building materials. Also, in the case of home construction, dry van freight can see an increase in demand for the delivery of household appliances and furniture.

Building permits, an indicator of future construction, increased 5.3% to an annual rate of 2.129 million units.

Housing starts rose in three of the four national regions, falling only in the Northeast, by 18%.

They rose 25% in the South, the biggest percentage increase in almost 10 years, 6.2% in the Midwest and 2.5% in the West.