Global| Sep 03 2019U.S. Construction Spending Is Little Changed
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The value of construction put-in-place improved 0.1% (-2.3% y/y) during July following two months of 0.7% decline. June's drop was revised from -1.3%. A 0.3% rise had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Construction [...]
The value of construction put-in-place improved 0.1% (-2.3% y/y) during July following two months of 0.7% decline. June's drop was revised from -1.3%. A 0.3% rise had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
Construction activity in the private sector eased 0.1% (-4.8% y/y) and reversed June's improvement. Residential construction rose 0.6% (-5.9% y/y), the first increase since December. Single-family building jumped 1.4% (-8.5% y/y), the first meaningful increase since early last year. The value of home improvements rose 0.2% (-5.4% y/y) after a 0.7% rise. Multi-family construction declined 1.1% (+6.2% y/y) following a 0.8% drop.
Private nonresidential building activity declined 0.8% (-3.4% y/y) during July, down for the third month in the last four. Manufacturing building rose 1.9% (4.4% y/y) and health care construction improved 1.5% (10.5% y/y). Office construction increased 0.3% (6.2% y/y). These gains were offset by a 5.1% weakening (-2.3% y/y) in transportation sector construction. Commercial building declined 3.6% (-21.2% y/y) and power construction slipped 0.3% (+0.5% y/y).
Public sector building activity increased 0.4% during July (5.2% y/y) following two months of sharp decline. Construction of highways & streets fell 2.7% (+6.5% y/y). It accounts for roughly one-third of the dollar value of public building activity. Transportation sector building improved 0.7% (8.9% y/y) while commercial construction jumped 8.9% (27.2% y/y). Health care building eased 0.6% (-8.0% y/y).
The construction spending figures, some of which date back to 1946, are in Haver's USECON database. The expectations reading can be found in the AS1REPNA database.
| Construction Put in Place (SA, %) | Jul | Jun | May | Jul Y/Y | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 0.1 | -0.7 | -0.7 | -2.3 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 7.0 |
| Private | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.5 | -4.8 | 3.1 | 7.1 | 9.2 |
| Residential | 0.6 | -0.0 | -0.4 | -5.9 | 2.6 | 12.4 | 10.7 |
| Nonresidential | -0.8 | 0.2 | -0.6 | -3.4 | 3.7 | 1.3 | 7.7 |
| Public | 0.4 | -3.1 | -1.4 | 5.2 | 6.8 | -3.2 | 0.7 |
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.
More Economy in Brief
