Global| Jul 03 2017U.S. Construction Activity Remains Unchanged
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The value of construction put-in-place held steady during May (+4.9% y/y) following a 0.7% April dip, revised from -1.4%. Earlier figures also were revised. Expectations were for a 0.3% rise in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. [...]
The value of construction put-in-place held steady during May (+4.9% y/y) following a 0.7% April dip, revised from -1.4%. Earlier figures also were revised. Expectations were for a 0.3% rise in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
Private sector construction activity declined 0.6% in May following a 0.2% dip, but it increased 6.4% from a year earlier.
Residential spending also eased 0.6% (+11.0% y/y), the first decline since April of last year. Single-family building slipped 0.3% (+8.0% y/y) after a 0.9% rise, while multi-family declined 3.3% (+3.3% y/y) following a 0.2% dip. The value of improvements eased 0.1% (+18.1% y/y) after a 0.3% rise.
Nonresidential building activity fell 0.7% (+1.3% y/y), the sixth consecutive monthly decline. Office construction rose 0.8% (+15.1% y/y). Manufacturing building declined 1.7% (-8.4% y/y) while commercial construction posted a 1.0% drop (+9.4% y/y). Health care building improved 0.8% (-2.8% y/y) and power plant construction gained 0.3% (-3.2% y/y).
Public sector building activity gained 2.1% (0.1% y/y) and made up most of April's decline. Education facility spending strengthened 5.1% (7.8% y/y), but transportation facilities construction eased 0.6% (+1.0% y/y). Highway and streets construction, which constitutes about one-third of total public building, slipped 0.9% (+2.9% y/y).
The construction spending figures are in Haver's USECON database and the expectations reading is contained in the AS1REPNA database.
| Construction Put in Place (SA, %) | May | Apr | Mar | May Y/Y | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 0.0 | -0.7 | 0.3 | 4.9 | 6.5 | 10.7 | 11.0 |
| Private | -0.6 | -0.2 | 0.2 | 6.4 | 9.2 | 12.9 | 14.8 |
| Residential | -0.6 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 11.0 | 10.5 | 14.2 | 14.4 |
| Nonresidential | -0.7 | -1.0 | -0.6 | 1.3 | 7.7 | 11.5 | 15.2 |
| Public | 2.1 | -2.7 | 0.8 | 0.1 | -1.2 | 5.1 | 2.0 |
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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