Global| Sep 03 2013U.S. Construction Spending Improves
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The value of construction put-in-place gained 0.6% in July (5.2 y/y) following little change during June, initially reported as a 0.6% decline. Figures back through last year were revised upward. A 0.3% rise in building activity had [...]
The value of construction put-in-place gained 0.6% in July (5.2 y/y) following little change during June, initially reported as a 0.6% decline. Figures back through last year were revised upward. A 0.3% rise in building activity had been expected. Declines in construction were logged across sectors. The value of public sector building slipped 0.3% (-3.7% y/y) although this year's numbers were revised up. Spending on highways & streets fell 1.1% (-3.8 y/y) but the decline was countered by a 4.1% rise (14.7% y/y) in transportation. Water supply spending also firmed by 3.5% (8.7% y/y).
Private sector building activity recovered by 0.9% (9.5% y/y) in July. Nonresidential building activity jumped 1.3% (2.0% y/y) as education construction spending gained 2.6% (-2.1 y/y) and commercial building rose 1.7% (2.6% y/y). Residential building activity rose 0.6% (17.2% y/y) following gains back through last year that were revised sharply higher. Spending on residential improvements rose 0.8% (1.4% y/y). Multi-family construction ticked up just 0.1% (39.3% y/y).
The construction spending figures are in Haver's USECON database and the expectations figure is contained in the AS1REPNA database.
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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