Global| Dec 03 2012U.S. Construction Spending Is Substantially Firmer
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The value of construction put-in-place jumped 1.4% during October after a 0.5% September gain. The latest increase easily beat expectations for a 0.4% rise and caps off seven months totaling 6.6% growth. Private sector spending surged [...]
The value of construction put-in-place jumped 1.4% during October after a 0.5% September gain. The latest increase easily beat expectations for a 0.4% rise and caps off seven months totaling 6.6% growth. Private sector spending surged 1.6% (15.5% y/y) led by a 3.0% (20.8% y/y) jump in residential building. Single-family construction surged 3.6% (29.0% y/y). Multi-family building gained 6.3% (53.2% y/y) while spending on improvements increased a lesser 1.8% (8.9% y/y). A relatively weaker gain was scored by nonresidential building which rose 0.3% (10.7% y/y). Commercial construction jumped 1.2% (9.5% y/y) but office building ticked up just 0.1% (17.6% y/y). Construction on health care facilities fell 1.1% (-0.3% y/y).
In the public sector, building activity gained 0.8% m/m (-1.0% y/y). Spending on highways & streets, which is 29% of total public construction spending, fell 2.4% (-5.0% y/y) as state budgets were pinched. Transportation spending, which is 10% of total public, offset some of that decline with a 5.8% (22.0% (0.2% y/y) rise while office construction rose 4.4% (-16.1% y/y). Educational building activity posted a relatively weak 0.9% (-2.8% y/y) rise.
The construction spending figures are in Haver's USECON database and the expectations figure is contained in the AS1REPNA database.
| Construction Put in Place (%) | Oct | Sep | Aug | Y/Y | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1.4 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 9.6 | -3.1 | -11.2 | -15.3 |
| Private | 1.6 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 15.5 | -1.1 | -15.2 | -22.4 |
| Residential | 3.0 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 20.8 | -1.0 | -2.9 | -29.9 |
| Nonresidential | 0.3 | 0.5 | -0.7 | 10.7 | -1.3 | -24.0 | -16.0 |
| Public | 0.8 | -0.1 | 1.4 | -1.0 | -6.4 | -3.6 | 2.1 |
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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