Global| Jun 01 2021U.S. Construction Spending Improves Slightly in April
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
• Residential building remains strong. • Private nonresidential & public sector building drop again. The value of construction put-in-place improved 0.2% (9.8% y/y) during April following a 1.0% March rise, revised from 0.2%. A 0.6% [...]
• Residential building remains strong.
• Private nonresidential & public sector building drop again.
The value of construction put-in-place improved 0.2% (9.8% y/y) during April following a 1.0% March rise, revised from 0.2%. A 0.6% April increase had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
Private construction rose 0.4% (13.9% y/y) in April after a 1.5% gain. Residential construction gained 1.0% (29.7% y/y) as single-family building rose 1.3% (39.6% y/y) after a 2.3% increase. Multi-family building surged 1.9% (27.1% y/y) after gaining 1.1%. Home improvement expenditures improved 0.3% (16.7% y/y) after strengthening 3.6% in March.
Nonresidential construction declined 0.5% in April (-4.8% y/y) after easing 0.1% in March. Transportation building weakened 5.4% (-3.4% y/). Lodging construction held fairly steady (-21.8% y/y) but education construction declined 0.9% (-7.7% y/y). Commercial building improved 0.4% (-1.3% y/y) while office building rose 0.2% (-1.6% y/y).
The value of public construction fell 0.6% during April (-2.2% y/y). It was the fourth consecutive monthly decline. Spending on highways & streets, which makes up nearly one-third of public spending, improved 0.6% (-2.7% y/y) but outlays on health care units improved 0.5% (9.9% y/y). Power construction rose 3.2% (5.7% y/y).
The construction spending figures, some of which date back to 1946 can be found in Haver's USECON database. The expectations reading is in the AS1REPNA database.
| Construction Put in Place (SA, %) | Apr | Mar | Feb | Apr Y/Y | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 0.2 | 1.0 | -0.8 | 9.8 | 4.7 | 2.3 | 4.1 |
| Private | 0.4 | 1.5 | -0.6 | 13.9 | 4.6 | 0.6 | 4.0 |
| Residential | 1.0 | 2.6 | -1.2 | 29.7 | 11.3 | -2.5 | 3.5 |
| Nonresidential | -0.5 | -0.1 | 0.5 | -4.8 | -2.9 | 4.4 | 4.7 |
| Public | -0.6 | -1.0 | -1.6 | -2.2 | 5.2 | 8.0 | 4.4 |
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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