The value of construction put in place matched Consensus expectations for the second month in a row and rose 0.5% in September following an upwardly revised 0.6% gain in August.

Private building activity increased 0.6%. Residential building jumped 1.0% as new single family building surged 1.4% (10.5% y/y) though the value of residential improvements fell 0.2% (-1.0% y/y), the seventh consecutive monthly decline.

Nonresidential building activity fell 0.3% after a 2.1% spike in August due to less commercial sector spending where auto industry outlays fell 4.4% (+9.6% y/y). Office construction surged 3.8% (12.2% y/y) after upwardly revised, small gains in the prior three months.

Public construction spending fell slightly due to a 0.9% (+19.7% y/y) decline in construction activity on highways & streets, nearly one third of the value of public construction spending.

These more detailed categories represent the Census Bureau’s reclassification of construction activity into end-use groups. Finer detail is available for many of the categories; for instance, commercial construction is shown for Automotive sales and parking facilities, drugstores, building supply stores, and both commercial warehouses and mini-storage facilities. Note that start dates vary for some seasonally adjusted line items in 2000 and 2002 and that constant-dollar data are no longer computed.