May Housing Starts Rise 0.2%; Strong Year Predicted

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.

ousing starts rose 0.2% in May, the Commerce Department reported Thursday, to the fastest overall annual pace in three months.

The increase to 2.009 million housing units at an annual rate fell just short of analysts’ expectations of 2.05 million, Bloomberg reported.

The figures show that this could be the best year for housing since 1978, Bloomberg reported.

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.

The May uptick followed a revised 2.005 million unit annual pace in April that was originally reported at 2.038 million.

Building permits, an indicator of future construction, fell 4.6% to an annual rate of 2.05 million units from a 22-year high of 2.148 in April.

Housing starts rose in three of the four national regions, falling only in the South, by 12%. Starts rose 19% in the Midwest, 12% in the West and 5.1% in the Northeast.