Global| Nov 01 2011U.S. Construction Spending Improves
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Construction spending during September ticked up an expected 0.2% following a little-revised 1.6% August increase. However, the decline in July was revised deeper to -3.3% from -1.4%. Therefore, the y/y comparison remained negative [...]
Construction spending during September ticked up an expected 0.2% following a little-revised 1.6% August increase. However, the decline in July was revised deeper to -3.3% from -1.4%. Therefore, the y/y comparison remained negative although activity was 3.2% above the March low.
Private sector spending paced last month's increase with a 0.6% rise. Residential building rose 0.9% led by a 1.4% gain (-0.6% y/y) in the value of home-improvements. The value of single-family building rose 0.5% (-0.1% y/y), although its downward revision in July led most other components. Multi-family building ticked up 0.2% (6.5% y/y). Nonresidential building activity notched up 0.3% (7.4% y/y) with the y/y strength led by a one-quarter gain in power, a 16.8% rise in transportation and a 4.1% rise in manufacturing. Health care and amusements building fell y/y.
Public construction activity slipped 0.6% (-9.2% y/y) after its 3.5% August jump. Commercial (-5.2% m/m), public safety (-9.7% y/y), transportation (-19.2% y/y) and conservation & development (-5.8% y/y) each fell hard m/m. Higher office building (-18.6% y/y), amusements & recreation (-18.7% y/y), power (-11.5% y/y) and highways & streets (-6.3% y/y) offset the monthly drop.
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 (%) | Sep | Aug | Jul | Y/Y | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 0.2 | 1.6 | -3.3 | -1.3 | -11.3 | -15.3 | -7.5 |
| Private | 0.6 | 0.6 | -3.9 | 3.9 | -15.2 | -22.4 | -12.2 |
| Residential | 0.9 | 0.4 | -7.7 | 0.1 | -2.9 | -29.9 | -29.0 |
| Nonresidential | 0.3 | 0.8 | -0.5 | 7.4 | -24.0 | -16.0 | 10.5 |
| Public | -0.6 | 3.5 | -2.2 | -9.2 | -3.9 | 2.1 | 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.
