Global| Sep 01 2016U.S. Construction Activity Is Stable
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The value of construction put-in-place remained little changed during July (+1.5% y/y) following a 0.9% June rise, revised from -0.6%. Despite the recent m/m stability, y/y growth in the value of construction activity has been [...]
The value of construction put-in-place remained little changed during July (+1.5% y/y) following a 0.9% June rise, revised from -0.6%. Despite the recent m/m stability, y/y growth in the value of construction activity has been weakening sharply. A 0.5% July increase was expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
Building activity in the private sector improved 1.0% (4.4% y/y), led by a 1.7% increase (7.1% y/y) in nonresidential construction which followed a 1.6% rise. June & May figures were revised sharply upward. Office building jumped 4.6% (30.3% y/y) and commercial construction increased 1.2% (13.5% y/y). Factory sector building rose 3.9% (-5.1% y/y), but amusement & recreation construction fell 3.9% (+15.4% y/y).
The value of residential building activity improved 0.3% (1.9% y/y). Single-family construction eased 0.2% (+1.7% y/y), down for the sixth month this year. Multi-family construction activity fell 0.6% (+19.8% y/y), down for the third month in four. Offsetting these declines was a 1.5% rise (-3.8% y/y) in the value of improvements, the third consecutive increase.
The value of public sector building activity declined 3.1% (-6.5% y/y), the fourth fall in five months. Commercial building declined 12.5% (-19.5% y/y) and power construction fell 27.1% (-31.7% y/y). Offsetting these shortfalls was a 0.3% improvement (-1.4% y/y) in highways and streets construction, and a 2.5% gain (1.9% y/y) in health care building.
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, %) | Jul | Jun | May | Jul Y/Y | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | -0.0 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 10.3 | 11.4 | 6.3 |
| Private | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 4.4 | 12.5 | 15.4 | 10.9 |
| Residential | 0.3 | -0.1 | -0.2 | 1.9 | 16.8 | 14.6 | 20.1 |
| Nonresidential | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 7.1 | 8.1 | 16.3 | 2.7 |
| Public | -3.1 | 1.3 | -1.5 | -6.5 | 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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