Global| Nov 01 2016U.S. Construction Activity Declines Again
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The value of construction put-in-place fell 0.4% (-0.2% y/y) during September following a 0.5% August dip, revised from -0.7%. The value of construction spending has been moving sideways since the middle of last year, following strong [...]
The value of construction put-in-place fell 0.4% (-0.2% y/y) during September following a 0.5% August dip, revised from -0.7%. The value of construction spending has been moving sideways since the middle of last year, following strong gains from 2012 through 2015. A 0.5% increase had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
Building activity in the private sector slipped 0.2% (+2.4% y/y), reflecting a 1.0% decline (+4.1 % y/y) in nonresidential construction, the first negative reading since April. Office construction eased 0.4% (+27.2% y/y), while commercial construction fell 2.4% (+5.9% y/y). Transportation building activity improved 0.6% (-6.4% y/y).
Residential building rose 0.5% (0.9% y/y) after a 1.2% drop. Multi-family building activity increased 2.0% (9.1% y/y), about as it did in August. The value of improvements increased 0.6% (4.0% y/y) following a 2.6% decline. Single-family building improved 0.1% (-2.9% y/y), leaving it 5.3% below the November peak.
Public sector building activity declined 0.9% (-7.8% y/y), leaving it 9.8% below the February peak. Commercial construction fell 12.2% (+5.0% y/y), and education facility activity was off 1.1% (-0.4% y/y). Highway & street construction, which is roughly one-third of the public sector total, improved 0.9% (-4.2% y/y) after declines during six of the prior seven months.
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, %) | Sep | Aug | Jul | Sep Y/Y | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | -0.4 | -0.5 | 0.5 | -0.2 | 10.3 | 11.4 | 6.3 |
| Private | -0.2 | -0.4 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 12.5 | 15.4 | 10.9 |
| Residential | 0.5 | -1.2 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 16.8 | 14.6 | 20.1 |
| Nonresidential | -1.0 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 4.1 | 8.1 | 16.3 | 2.7 |
| Public | -0.9 | -1.0 | -3.7 | -7.8 | 4.5 | 1.9 | -3.1 |
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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