Commercial development and construction rises nationwide

The latest version of the Federal Reserve Bank’s Beige Book, released Sept. 6, reported strong commercial development and construction in most of the 12 geographic districts nationwide. For the Federal Reserve report, click here.

The Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and San Francisco districts report increasing office construction, according to the report.

The Cleveland and Dallas districts see rising retail development, while the Dallas and San Francisco districts experience healthy public construction, according to the report.

Residential construction remains weak in most districts, according to the report, echoing Aug. 16 statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Census report found housing starts tumbled to about 1.8 million in July, 2.5 percent below June and 13.3 percent below July 2005.

The Beige Book, published eight times per year, is based on information about current economic conditions from each district’s Federal Reserve Bank.