Global| Feb 01 2016U.S. Construction Activity Remains Fairly Steady In December; 2015 Strengthened
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The value of construction put-in-place improved 0.1% (8.0% y/y) during December following a 0.6% November decline, revised from -0.4%. For all of last year, construction activity strengthened 10.5% versus a 9.6% gain in 2014. A 0.5% [...]
The value of construction put-in-place improved 0.1% (8.0% y/y) during December following a 0.6% November decline, revised from -0.4%. For all of last year, construction activity strengthened 10.5% versus a 9.6% gain in 2014. A 0.5% rise for December had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
Public sector building rebounded 1.9% (+3.0% y/y) following a deepened 2.4% November decline. Highway and street construction jumped 9.4% (13.2% y/y) while commercial construction surged 12.0% (41.4% y/y). Power construction declined 3.9% (-19.8% y/y) and educational building eased 0.5% (+8.2% y/y).
Building activity in the private sector declined 0.6% following no change in November. During the last three months, activity eased at a 0.1% rate. Residential building activity improved 0.9% after a 0.3% rise (9.1% y/y). The increase was led by a strong 1.0% rise in single-family building (9.1% y/y). Multi-family construction recovered 2.7% (11.9%) after a sharp decline. Spending on improvements rose 5.8% (7.9% y/y). Nonresidential building fell 2.1% (+10.4% y/y) as factory sector construction declined 7.3% (+18.1% 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, %) | Dec | Nov | Oct | Dec Y/Y | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 0.1 | -0.6 | -0.1 | 8.0 | 10.5 | 9.6 | 6.6 |
| Private | -0.6 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 9.7 | 12.3 | 12.9 | 11.3 |
| Residential | 0.9 | 0.3 | -0.2 | 9.1 | 12.6 | 14.4 | 19.9 |
| Nonresidential | -2.1 | -0.2 | 1.3 | 10.4 | 12.0 | 11.3 | 3.6 |
| Public | 1.9 | -2.4 | -1.8 | 3.0 | 5.6 | 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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