Global| Jan 04 2016U.S. Construction Activity Eased in November
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The value of construction put-in-place declined 0.4% (+9.7% y/y) during November following a 0.3% October rise, revised from 1.0%. Three-month growth of 0.2% (AR) compared to 29.2% during Q2. A 0.5% rise in November had been expected [...]
The value of construction put-in-place declined 0.4% (+9.7% y/y) during November following a 0.3% October rise, revised from 1.0%. Three-month growth of 0.2% (AR) compared to 29.2% during Q2. A 0.5% rise in November had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Data back to 2005 were revised, notably for 2014.
Public sector building fell 1.0% (+6.0% y/y), the fourth decline in the last five months. Water supply spending declined 7.6% (-7.0% y/y) but office construction increased 1.1% (8.0% y/y). Highway and street construction eased 1.3% (+6.0% y/y) and power construction declined 2.4% (-2.0% y/y).
Building activity in the private sector slipped 0.2% following a 0.7% October rise. During the last three months, activity increased at a much-reduced 3.6% rate. Residential building activity improved 0.3% for the second consecutive month (10.4% y/y). These increases are reduced from a 13.2% rise during Q2. The increase was led by a diminished 0.6% rise in single-family building (9.4% y/y). Multi-family construction fell 0.7% but still rose by roughly one-quarter y/y. Spending on improvements inched 0.1% higher (6.1% y/y). Nonresidential building fell 0.7% (+11.7% y/y) as factory sector construction declined 4.0% (+27.3% 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, %) | Nov | Oct | Sep | Nov Y/Y | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | -0.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 9.7 | 9.6 | 6.6 | 7.9 |
| Private | -0.2 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 11.0 | 12.9 | 11.3 | 13.8 |
| Residential | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 10.4 | 14.4 | 19.9 | 10.5 |
| Nonresidential | -0.7 | 1.1 | -0.4 | 13.6 | 12.7 | 2.7 | 17.5 |
| Public | -1.0 | -0.8 | -0.5 | 6.0 | 1.8 | -3.1 | -2.8 |
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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