Global| Apr 02 2018U.S. Construction Spending Is Little Changed for Second Month
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The value of construction put-in-place improved 0.1% (3.7% y/y) during February following unrevised stability in January. A 0.4% rise in building activity had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Private sector [...]
The value of construction put-in-place improved 0.1% (3.7% y/y) during February following unrevised stability in January. A 0.4% rise in building activity had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
Private sector building activity increased 0.7% (3.8% y/y) after a 0.7% decline in January. Nonresidential construction improved 1.5% (1.3% y/y) and reversed January's shortfall. Office construction strengthened 6.5 (3.0% y/y) and commercial construction rose 1.2% (7.4% y/y). Transportation building activity declined 1.3% (+34.4% y/y). Residential building nudged 0.1% higher (6.1% y/y) for a second straight month. Single-family housing activity rose 0.9% (9.5% y/y) for a second straight month. Multi-family construction increased 1.2% (-0.0% y/y) and reversed a 1.7% decline. The value of improvements declined 1.5% (+3.8% y/y), down for the second straight month.
The value of public sector building activity declined 2.1% (+3.7% y/y) and reversed the prior month's increase. Highway and street construction, the largest component of public sector construction, eased 0.2% (-3.1% y/y). Educational building slipped 0.5% (+4.2% y/y) and office construction fell 0.6% (+20.6% y/y). Water supply construction rose 1.3% (5.9% y/y).
The construction spending figures, some of which date back to 1946, are in Haver's USECON database and the expectations reading can be found in the AS1REPNA database.
| Construction Put in Place (SA, %) | Feb | Jan | Dec | Feb Y/Y | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 0.1 | -0.0 | 1.6 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 6.5 | 10.7 |
| Private | 0.7 | -0.7 | 2.0 | 3.8 | 6.2 | 9.2 | 12.9 |
| Residential | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 6.1 | 10.9 | 10.5 | 14.2 |
| Nonresidential | 1.5 | -1.7 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 7.7 | 11.5 |
| Public | -2.1 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 3.7 | -2.5 | -1.2 | 5.1 |
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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