Global| Jul 01 2011U.S. Construction Spending Falls Further
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The value of construction spending fell 0.6% during May and duplicated its downwardly revised 0.6% April drop. Though the rate of decline has slowed, activity's downtrend is in its fifth year. Figures back through 2009 were moderately [...]
The value of construction spending fell 0.6% during May and duplicated
its downwardly revised 0.6% April drop. Though the rate of decline has
slowed, activity's downtrend is in its fifth year. Figures back through
2009 were moderately revised. Consensus expectations as indicated by
Action Economics called for no change in the May level.
Lower private sector building led the May decline as residential building reversed most of its April increase. Volatility in improvements has been most extreme. First off, it fell 3.8% in May (-1.0% y/y) after a 6.5% April increase. Multi-family building followed with a hard 2.1% drop (-6.8% y/y). Single-family construction also slipped 0.3% in May (-11.9% y/y) following a 0.4% April decline.
Nonresidential construction activity ticked up 0.5% in May led by a 4.5% rise (3.7% y/y) in transportation and a 4.4% increase (11.5% y/y) in power. In the factory sector building also rose 1.8% (-19.6% y/y) and in amusements it increased 1.9% (-15.8% y/y). However, building activity fell elsewhere. Educational building dropped 4.3% (-6.4% y/y) and religious construction fell 3.7% (-25.3% y/y). The value of health care building also fell 0.9% (-5.9% y/y).
Reflecting budget shortfalls, public construction activity continued down by 0.8% (-9.3% y/y), the eighth consecutive down month. Highways and streets building fell 1.5% (-11.3% y/y) and water supply fell 0.9% (-13.15 y/y).
The construction put-in-place figures are available in Haver's USECON database. The expectations figure is contained in Haver's AS1REPNA database.
| Construction Put in Place (%) | May | Apr | Mar | Y/Y | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | -0.6 | -0.6 | -0.2 | -7.1 | -11.3 | -15.3 | -7.5 |
| Private | -0.4 | 0.4 | -0.3 | -5.8 | -15.2 | -22.4 | -12.2 |
| Residential | -2.1 | 2.9 | -2.6 | -6.6 | -2.9 | -29.9 | -29.0 |
| Nonresidential | 1.2 | -1.8 | 1.9 | -5.1 | -24.0 | -16.0 | 10.5 |
| Public | -0.8 | -2.4 | -0.0 | -9.3 | -3.1 | 2.2 | 6.6 |
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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