Global| Jun 01 2016U.S. Construction Activity Reverses Earlier Gain
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Strength in building activity has waned recently. The value of construction put-in-place declined 1.8% during April (+4.5% y/y) following a 1.5% March rise, revised from 0.3%. February's 1.4% gain also was revised from 1.0%. A 0.5% [...]
Strength in building activity has waned recently. The value of construction put-in-place declined 1.8% during April (+4.5% y/y) following a 1.5% March rise, revised from 0.3%. February's 1.4% gain also was revised from 1.0%. A 0.5% increase was expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
Building activity in the private sector declined 1.5% led by the same 1.5% drop in residential building activity, which reversed half of a March increase. Multi-family building activity declined 3.1% (+20.6% y/y) following a 6.6% rise, and spending on improvements fell 3.2% (-0.8% y/y) on the heels of a 7.3% jump. Single-family construction was little-changed m/m (+12.8% y/y) after a 0.3% rise.
The value of nonresidential building activity declined 1.5%(+3.5% y/y) following a 1.3% rise. Office construction rose 1.6% (24.2% y/y) and transportation activity gained 1.8% (14.7% y/y). A 3.6% decline (+4.7% y/y) in commercial construction offset these increases along with a 1.5% drop (-2.0% y/y) in factory sector building.
Public sector building activity declined 2.8% (-0.6% y/y) after a 0.6% easing. Highway & street construction fell 6.6% (-0.3% y/y) following sharp volatility earlier this year. Commercial construction declined 4.1% (+61.8% y/y) after 12.6% growth, but water supply activity eased just 0.4% (-2.8% y/y), the same as in March. Power construction rebounded 5.2% (-11.7% y/y) after a 15.0% shortfall.
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, %) | Apr | Mar | Feb | Apr Y/Y | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | -1.8 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 4.5 | 10.6 | 9.6 | 6.6 |
| Private | -1.5 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 6.2 | 12.5 | 12.9 | 11.3 |
| Residential | -1.5 | 3.2 | 2.6 | 8.7 | 13.0 | 14.4 | 19.9 |
| Nonresidential | -1.5 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 3.5 | 11.9 | 11.3 | 3.6 |
| Public | -2.8 | -0.6 | 0.5 | -0.6 | 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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