Construction Market Will Continue to Slide in 2009, According to McGraw-Hill Construction Outlook

Report says to expect a 7 percent decline to follow 12 percent drop in 2008 as financial upheaval continues.

McGraw-Hill Construction, part of The

McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), today released its 2009 Construction

Outlook, which forecasts a drop in overall U.S. construction starts for next

year, as the tough funding environment continues, construction projects are

deferred, and financial stress gradually eases. Against this backdrop, the

level of construction starts in 2009 is expected to decline 7%, to $515

billion, following a 12% decline predicted for 2008.

Single family housing for 2009 will be down 2percent in dollars, corresponding to a 4percent drop in the number of units to 560,000 (McGraw-Hill Construction basis).

Multifamily housing will retreat 6percent in dollars and 8percent in units, after the sharp plunge witnessed during 2008.

Commercial buildings will drop 12 percent in dollars and 15 percent in square feet, similar to the declines experienced in 2008. Stores and warehouses will continue to lose momentum, the office correction will be steeper, and hotel construction will finally pull back after its lengthy boom.

Institutional buildings will slip 3 percent in dollars and 6percent in square feet, as the financial crisis affects funding coming from states and localities.

Manufacturing buildings will plunge 32 percent in dollars after an exceptional 2008 that was lifted by the start of several massive oil refinery expansion projects.

Public works construction will fall 5 percent, given flat funding at the federal level combined with restraint by state and local governments.

Electric utility construction will retreat 30 percent after surging 55 percent to a near record amount in 2008.

The 2009 Construction Outlook was presented at the McGraw-Hill Construction Outlook Executive Conference in Washington, DC, which brought together top management from all parts of the construction industry, including firms involved in building product manufacturing, architecture and design, contracting, engineering, industry associations and other industry professionals.

This year, the conference also unveiled a new report that analyzes industry trends for building products and industry players and provided a preview of the 2009 Green Outlook: Trends Driving Change, a first-of-its-kind outlook report on market size, trends and opportunity across green building sectors and regions.

For more information, visit http://construction.ecnext.com/coms2/summary_0249-295230_ITM_analytics .