Tag Archives: Construction Spending

The Commerce Department said Monday that construction spending rose 0.4 percent month-over-month throughout December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $982.1 billion. November's spending rate was revised slightly upward to a seasonally adjusted $978.6 billion, still reflecting a decline from the month prior.

Total construction spending for November fell 0.3 percent from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $975 billion, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Economists polled by Econoday predicted a 0.5 percent pickup.

In a report on Tuesday, the Commerce Department estimated construction spending throughout the month at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $971 billion, an increase of 1.1 percent over September's revised estimate of $960.3 billion. A large share of October's increase came in spending on residential projects.

Dodge Data & Analytics reported a 4 percent drop in the value of new construction starts last month, estimating groundbreaking at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $589.8 billion. The decline followed a 10 percent increase in September, which was the strongest month for total construction starts so far this year.

The Commerce Department reported Monday that construction spending throughout September came in at an estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of $950.9 billion, down 0.4 percent from August but up 2.9 percent from a year ago.

In a report on Wednesday, the Commerce Department estimated construction spending for the month of August was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $961.0 billion, a decrease of 0.8 percent from July’s revised estimate of $968.8 billion. The drop included a 0.1 percent falloff in private homebuilding from July, though the much smaller public residential construction category saw a 3.3 percent increase.

Total construction spending, both private and public, surged to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $981.3 billion, up from $906.6 billion in July last year. For private residential construction, the numbers reflected a 7 percent boost year-over-year, eclipsing new home data in June at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $358.1 billion.

According to the latest figures released Friday from the U.S. Census new home sales, starts, and spending were down in June and for the first half of the year. Spending on private construction in June came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $685.5 billion, 1 percent below the revised May estimate of $692 billion. Residential construction alone was at $356 billion, which is 0.3 percent below the revised May estimate.

Construction spending edged up 0.1 percent from April to May, though private homebuilding outlays came down slightly. The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that construction spending during May was at an estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of $956.1 billion, just up from April's revised estimate of $955.1 billion and 6.6 percent higher than the May 2013 estimate of $896.6 billion.

The Department of Commerce estimates overall construction outlays came to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $953.5 billion in April, just up from March's revised $951.6 billion (originally reported at $942.5 billion). Despite the small increase, the gain brought spending levels up to their highest since March 2009.