Global| Dec 01 2015U.S. Construction Activity Continues to Strengthen
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The value of construction put-in-place increased 1.0% during October following an unrevised 0.6% September increase. Three-month growth of 10.4% (AR) was steady with Q3 but down sharply from 29.2% during Q2. A 0.5% October rise had [...]
The value of construction put-in-place increased 1.0% during October following an unrevised 0.6% September increase. Three-month growth of 10.4% (AR) was steady with Q3 but down sharply from 29.2% during Q2. A 0.5% October rise had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
Building activity in the private sector increased 0.8% following a 0.9% September gain. Activity increased at an 11.3% rate during the last three months. Residential building activity rose 1.0% (18.3% y/y), the seventh consecutive month of strong gain. The gain was led by a 1.6% increase in single-family building (11.3% y/y) which equaled the strongest rise of the year. Multi-family building rose 1.4% (27.2% y/y). Spending on improvements eased 0.3% (+21.5% y/y). Nonresidential building improved 0.6% (14.4% y/y) as factory sector construction rose 3.0% (37.6% y/y).
Public sector building increased 1.4% (5.6% y/y) following three months of little change. Water supply spending rose 2.5% (5.3% y/y) and office construction jumped 1.8% (7.2% y/y). Highway and street construction increased 1.1% (5.2% y/y) but power construction declined 5.2% (-8.7% y/y).
The construction spending figures are in Haver's USECON database and the expectations figure is contained in the AS1REPNA database.
| Construction Put in Place (SA, %) | Oct | Sep | Aug | Oct Y/Y | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 11.7 | 4.8 | 6.6 | 9.2 |
| Private | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 14.3 | 6.0 | 11.3 | 15.9 |
| Residential | 1.0 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 16.2 | 1.0 | 19.5 | 14.9 |
| Nonresidential | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 12.4 | 11.3 | 3.6 | 16.9 |
| Public | 1.4 | -0.1 | 0.7 | 5.6 | 1.9 | -3.1 | -2.5 |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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