Month	Latest month	Previous month	Month-over-month % change	Year ago	Year-over-year % change	2008 annual
CONSTRUCTION
New Construction Put in Place
(Billions of dollars, SAAR)2
Offices	NOV	60.69	60.12	0.9	57.82	5.0	NA
Industrial	NOV	76.55	73.94	3.5	47.16	62.3	NA
Total	NOV	1,078.39	1,085.29	-0.6	1,115.33	-3.3	NA
Housing Starts (Thousands of units, SAAR)2
Single-unit	DEC	398	460	-13.5	779	-48.9	618
Total	DEC	550	651	-15.5	1,000	-45.0	902
Mobile Home Shipments3
(Thousands of units, SAAR)	OCT	70	77	-9.1	94	-25.5	NA
Employment, Construction Workers (Thousands)4	DEC	6,706	7,049	-4.9	7,353	-8.8	7,175
Employment, Electrical Contractors (Thousands)4	NOV	900.7	917.9	-1.9	933.5	-3.5	NA
Hourly Wage, Electrical Contractors4	NOV	24.79	24.40	1.6	23.56	5.2	NA
PRODUCTION
Industrial Production Index (1967=100)5	DEC	103.6	105.7	-2.0	112.4	-7.8	109.5
Construction Supplies Production Index5
(1977=100-SA)	DEC	89.7	92.8	-3.4	104.2	-14.0	99.5
Employment in Electrical Equipment & Supplies Mfg.
Production workers (Thousands)4	NOV	152.9	153.1	-0.1	154.1	-0.8	NA
Weekly hours	NOV	41.7	42.1	-1.0	42.7	-2.3	NA
Hourly wage	NOV	15.90	15.79	0.7	15.66	1.5	NA
Electric Power Output Index (1967=100)5	DEC	110.6	110.9	-0.2	109.7	0.8	110.4
Machine Tool Orders* (Millions of dollars)6	NOV	170.49	269.68	-36.8	363.72	-53.1	NA
Industrial Capacity Utilization (Percent, SA)1	DEC	70.08	71.85	-1.8	79.23	-9.2	75.92
TRADE
Electrical Mfrs' Shipments	NOV	3,140	3,427	-8.4	3,486	-9.9	NA
Electrical Mfrs' Inventories (Millions of dollars, SA)2	NOV	5,177	5,284	-2.0	5,005	3.4	NA
Electrical Mfrs' Inventory-to-Shipments Ratio	NOV	1.649	1.542	6.9	1.436	14.8	NA
Electrical Mfrs' New Orders
(Millions of dollars, SA)2	NOV	2,844	3,050	-6.8	3,633	-21.7	NA
Electrical Mfrs' Unfilled Orders
(Millions of dollars, SA)2	NOV	14,972	15,268	-1.9	15,306	-2.2	NA
Exports, Electrical Machinery
(f.a.s. value in millions of dollars)2	NOV	6,366.0	7,376.0	-13.7	6,874.0	-7.4	NA
U.S. Dollar vs. Other Major Currencies (1973=100)5	DEC	108.5	109.6	-1.1	99.3	9.3	99.8
PRICES & INTEREST RATES
Industrial Commodities Wholesale Price Index
(Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1967=100)	DEC	172.6	179.0	-3.6	180.7	-4.5	192.4
Electrical Price Index
(Electrical Marketing, 1997=100)	DEC	130.1	129.6	0.4	132.2	-1.6	135.1
Construction Materials Wholesale Price Index
(Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1982=100)	DEC	207.6	210.3	-1.3	193.4	7.3	205.4
Copper Prices (Metals Week, cents per pound)	JAN	152.74	142.79	7.0	323.68	-52.8	317.30
Prime Rate5	DEC	3.6%	4.0%	-0.4	7.3%	-3.7	**5.1%
Federal Funds Rate5	DEC	0.2%	0.4%	-0.2	4.2%	-4.1	**1.9%
Mortgage Rate7	DEC	5.3%	6.1%	-0.8	6.1%	-0.8	6.0%
*Several series related to employment are now being reported on a NAICS basis. Because of this change, some numbers are not directly comparable to previously reported data, but are consistent in year-over-year comparisons and comparisons shown in the table.
Sources: 1McGraw-Hill Construction/Dodge; 2Dept. of Commerce; 3Manufactured Housing Institute; 4Dept. of Labor; 5Federal Reserve Board; 6The Association for Manufacturing Technology; 7Federal Home Loan Bank Board. Note: Some figures shown — prime rate, for example — are averaged for month. NYA — not yet available SA-seasonally adjusted. SAAR-seasonally adjusted annual rate. Source for chart: Global Insight. For further information about construction starts, please contact Dodge Analytics at 1-800-591-4462

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