Quikrete Industry Dashboard

Statistics on residential construction came out last week: and the numbers weren't good. Total housing starts were down compared to a year ago, and down big-time—14.4. percent—compared to the prior month. 

Meanwhile, the bears were out on Wall Street, driving  all 10 ticker symbols into negative territory for the month. 

Not everything was going down, though. New data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows sales for NAICS 444 (home centers, prodealers, hardware stores and garden centers, etc.) were up in May on a monthly and annual basis.

Gas prices also jumped past the $5 mark: the national average for a gallon of regular stood at $5.01 as of June 16, according to the tally from the American Automobile Association.

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Coming next: Existing home sales will be updated June 21, with a report from the National Association of Realtors.