• Harsh winter weather curtailed building activity.

• Residential decline led by multi-family sector.

• Public-sector building weakened.

Building activity weakened as severe winter weather curtailed activity. The value of construction put-in-place fell 0.8% (+5.3% y/y) during February following a 1.2% January increase, revised from 1.7%. A 0.9% February decline had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.

Private construction eased 0.5% (+7.1% y/y) in February following a 1.5% January rise. Residential construction slipped 0.2% (+21.1% y/y) as multi-family building declined 1.4% (+14.6% y/y) and reversed the prior month's 1.2% gain. It had been rising steadily for nine months. Single-family building edged 0.1% higher (20.9% y/y) following seven straight months of notably strong increase. Home improvement expenditures eased 0.2% (+23.9% y/y) after rising 1.1% in January.

Nonresidential private construction declined 1.0% in February (-9.7% y/y), the seventh decline in eight months. Transportation building rose 0.8% (-2.9% y/), strong for the sixth straight month. Lodging construction fell, however, by 3.2% (-23.9% y/y) and commercial building weakened 1.2% (-7.1% y/y). Education construction fell 1.9% (-17.3% y/y). Office building eased 0.5% (-5.0% y/y), off just slightly for the third straight month.

Public construction fell 1.7% during February (-0.3% y/y) following two months of slight increase. Spending on highways & streets, which makes up nearly one-third of public spending, slipped 0.6% (-1.0% y/y) but outlays on health care units improved 1.4% (8.8% y/y). Power construction fell 0.9% (-3.4% y/y).

The construction spending figures, some of which date back to 1946 can be found in Haver's USECON database. The expectations reading is in the AS1REPNA database.