Global| Sep 01 2015U.S. Construction Spending Continues to Improve
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The value of construction put-in-place increased 0.7% during July following an upwardly revised 0.7% rise in June. May's increase was revised higher to 2.3%. Three-month growth eased to 15.7% (AR), roughly half the growth as of June. [...]
The value of construction put-in-place increased 0.7% during July following an upwardly revised 0.7% rise in June. May's increase was revised higher to 2.3%. Three-month growth eased to 15.7% (AR), roughly half the growth as of June. A 0.6% July rise had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
Building activity in the private sector increased 1.3% following a 0.1% June uptick, revised from a 0.5% decline reported initially. Activity increased at a 17.2% rate during the last three months. Nonresidential construction activity bounced back 1.5% (19.1% y/y), the fourth strong gain in the last five months. Residential building activity rose 1.1% (16.0% y/y), the fourth consecutive month of strength. Single-family building jumped 2.1% (15.3% y/y), the strongest of four monthly increases. Spending on improvements improved 0.9% (15.3% y/y) but multi-family building fell 2.2% (+21.0% y/y).
Public sector building eased 1.0% (+6.1% y/y) and rose by 11.9% at an annual rate during the last three months. Office construction improved 5.7% (9.9% y/y) but power construction jumped 8.5% (-5.1% y/y). Water supply spending grew 5.3% (+4.6% y/y) though highway & street construction eased 0.2% (+8.3% y/y). Public safety construction declined 2.2% (-5.8% y/y) and commercial building fell 14.7% (+25.7% 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, s%) | Jul | Jun | May | Jul Y/Y | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 0.7 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 13.9 | 4.8 | 6.6 | 9.2 |
| Private | 1.3 | 0.1 | 2.5 | 17.5 | 6.0 | 11.3 | 15.9 |
| Residential | 1.1 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 16.0 | 1.0 | 19.5 | 14.9 |
| Nonresidential | 1.5 | -0.7 | 3.3 | 19.1 | 11.3 | 3.6 | 16.9 |
| Public | -1.0 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 6.1 | 1.9 | -3.1 | -2.5 |
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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