New Housing Starts Jump 4.5% in December

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U.S. new housing starts jumped 4.5% in December as builders took advantage of warmer weather, the Commerce Department said Thursday.New housing starts rose to a 1.642 million-unit annual rate, from November’s 1.572 million, Commerce said.That level was higher than economists’ forecasts of a decline to a 1.565 million pace, Bloomberg reported.Building permits, an indicator of future construction, jumped 5.5%, the most in four years, to an annual rate of 1.596 million. They were expected to drop to 1.505 million, Bloomberg said.Housing starts jumped 26% in the Northeast and 12% in the West. They gained 1.8% in the Midwest and fell 2% in the South.Increased construction can mean more business for flatbed trucking companies that haul building materials. In home construction, dry van freight can see demand increases in for delivery of household appliances and furniture.