Nonresidential building rebounds while residential building continues at a brisk pace.

Contracting for new construction increased 2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $491.4 billion, as reported by the F.W. Dodge Division of The McGraw-Hill Companies. Nonresidential building rebounded after a weak December, while residential building continued at a brisk pace. In contrast, the nonbuilding construction sector lost momentum, reflecting a sharp decline for electric power plants.

January's data raised the Dodge Index to 148, up from a reading of 145 for the previous two months. For all of 2001, the Dodge Index averaged 147.