Global| Feb 01 2005U.S. Construction Spending Jump Lifted Last Year's Gain To 8.8%
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The total value of construction put in place surged 1.1% in December following declines in prior months that were lessened. Consensus expectations had been for a 0.6% gain.The yearend jump lifted the y/y gain in spending to 8.8%, its [...]
The total value of construction put in place surged 1.1% in December following declines in prior months that were lessened. Consensus expectations had been for a 0.6% gain.The yearend jump lifted the y/y gain in spending to 8.8%, its strongest since 1996.
Private residential building activity recovered 0.7% following two months of decline to finish the year up 13.5%, the biggest gain in ten years. New single family building only rose 0.3% in December but the year's gain of 18.9% was the series' largest.
Nonresidential building jumped 1.2% and rose to the highest level since early 2002 led by a 1.3% gain in office building (+2.9% y/y) and another pop (+2.3%) in multi-retail (27.2% y/y).
Public construction jumped 1.8% and the prior month's gain was revised up sharply. Spending on highways & streets, nearly one third of the value of public construction spending, surged 3.2% (9.1% y/y) for the third consecutive month of strength.Educational spending also was strong for the second month, up 1.7% (8.5% y/y).
These more detailed categories represent the Census Bureau’s reclassification of construction activity into end-use groups. Finer detail is available for many of the categories; for instance, commercial construction is shown for Automotive sales and parking facilities, drugstores, building supply stores, and both commercial warehouses and mini-storage facilities. Note that start dates vary for some seasonally adjusted line items in 2000 and 2002 and that constant-dollar data are no longer computed.
| Construction Put-in-place | Dec | Nov | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1.1% | 0.3% | 8.7% | 8.8% | 5.1% | 1.5% |
| Private | 0.9% | -0.2% | 8.5% | 10.4% | 6.0% | -0.2% |
| Residential | 0.7% | -0.1% | 9.5% | 13.5% | 13.1% | 8.4% |
| Nonresidential | 1.2% | -0.7% | 6.3% | 3.7% | -7.1% | -12.8% |
| Public | 1.8% | 2.3% | 9.4% | 3.6% | 2.6% | 7.0% |
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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