October 22, 2012

Non-residential building construction sees third consecutive quarterly gain

OTTAWA

Investment in non-residential building construction saw its third consecutive quarterly gain in the third quarter, reports Statistics Canada.

Investment rose 0.6 per cent from the second quarter to $12.1 billion in the third quarter. Growth in the industrial and commercial components was offset by a decline in institutional investment.

There was a rise in investment for 16 of 34 census metropolitan areas (CMAs), with the largest increases in Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary. All three components were up in all three CMAs. The gain in Montreal was attributable to institutional investment, while in Vancouver most of the increase was in the commercial component.

The largest decreases occurred in Edmonton and Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo. In Edmonton, most of the decline occurred in commercial investment. All three components fell in Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo.

Investment in commercial building construction rose 1.0 per cent from the second quarter to $7.3 billion, for its fourth consecutive quarterly increase. The gain in the third quarter mainly reflected higher spending in the construction of retail and wholesale outlets, warehouses and restaurants in eight provinces.

Industrial investment rose 6.0 per cent to $1.6 billion in the third quarter, on the strength of higher investment in several categories of industrial building. This was the fourth consecutive quarterly gain. Spending was higher in nine provinces, with the largest increases in Ontario and Alberta.

In the institutional component, investment fell 2.8 per cent to $3.2 billion, the seventh consecutive quarterly decrease. The decline in the third quarter was mostly attributable to lower investment in health care facilities and other government buildings. Institutional investment declined in seven provinces.

DCN NEWS SERVICES

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