Global| May 02 2016U.S. Construction Activity Improves
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The value of construction put-in-place improved 0.3% during March (8.6% y/y) following a 1.0% February increase, revised from -0.5%. January's 0.3% decline was revised from a 2.1% rise. A 0.5% increase was expected in the Action [...]
The value of construction put-in-place improved 0.3% during March (8.6% y/y) following a 1.0% February increase, revised from -0.5%. January's 0.3% decline was revised from a 2.1% rise. A 0.5% increase was expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. During all of Q1'16, construction activity grew at a 3.3% annual rate q/q, faster than the 0.6% rise in Q4'15.
Building activity in the private sector remained strong, and posted a 1.1% increase (9.6% y/y) following a 1.3% rise. Residential building expanded 1.6% (9.1% y/y) after a 1.7% gain. Multi-family construction led the gain with a 5.6% rise (34.9% y/y), following two months of 2.5% and 4.1% growth. Spending on improvements added 2.4% (-8.9% y/y) to a 1.6% recovery from January's 14.6% plunge. Single-family building activity remained unchanged (+13.8% y/y) on the heels of strong monthly gains dating back to April of last year.
Private nonresidential building activity improved 0.7% (10.1% y/y), about the same as it did in February. Transportation building activity jumped 11.3% (13.0% y/y) after a 0.9% decline. Communication spending rose 3.7% (13.1% y/y) , but office building fell 0.8% (+23.6% y/y). Commercial building activity rose 0.8% (13.2% y/y) after a 3.2% jump.
Public sector building activity declined 1.9% (+9.1% y/y) after a 0.4% rise. Highway & street construction gained 0.4% (20.9% y/y) following sharp volatility during the prior two months. Commercial construction strengthened 8.8% (51.1% y/y) after 4.9% growth, but water supply activity fell 1.8% (-5.5% y/y) following a 2.5% rise. Power construction also fell 14.1% (-12.9% y/y) after a 4.0% increase.
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, %) | Mar | Feb | Jan | Mar Y/Y | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 0.3 | 1.0 | -0.3 | 8.6 | 10.6 | 9.6 | 6.6 |
| Private | 1.1 | 1.3 | -1.3 | 9.6 | 12.5 | 12.9 | 11.3 |
| Residential | 1.6 | 1.7 | -4.2 | 9.1 | 13.0 | 14.4 | 19.9 |
| Nonresidential | 0.7 | 0.8 | 2.0 | 10.1 | 11.9 | 11.3 | 3.6 |
| Public | -1.9 | 0.4 | 2.3 | 9.1 | 5.7 | 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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