Global| Aug 01 2011U.S. Construction Spending Nudges Up
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The construction sector was not in as dire straights as previously shown, but growth still was negligible. The value of construction spending during June inched up 0.2% following similarly small gains in prior months, when declines [...]
The construction sector was not in as dire straights as
previously shown, but growth still was negligible. The value of
construction spending during June inched up 0.2% following similarly
small gains in prior months, when declines were earlier indicated.
Consensus expectations as indicated by Action Economics were for a
0.1% rise in the June level of spending.
Higher private sector building led the June increase as nonresidential building jumped 1.8% after its upwardly revised 1.2% May gain. The rise was led by 4.0% increases both in manufacturing (-11.8% y/y) and communication (+2.5% y/y). Health care construction followed with a 2.3% increase (-3.0% y/y) and lodging rose 1.1% (-27.0% y/y).
Residential building activity slipped 0.3% as multi-family building fell 2.8% (-10.4% y/y). Spending on improvements slipped 0.5% (+8.1% y/y) but single-family construction rose all of 0.3% (-10.6% y/y).
Reflecting budget shortfalls, public construction activity continued down by 0.7% (-9.6% y/y), the eighth decline in nine months. Highways and streets building fell 1.6% (-10.4% y/y) but sewerage & waste disposal rose 1.9% (-8.1% y/y).
The construction put-in-place figures are available in Haver's USECON database. The expectations figure is contained in Haver's AS1REPNA database.
| Construction Put in Place (%) | Jun | May | Apr | Y/Y | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.7 | -4.7 | -11.3 | -15.3 | -7.5 |
| Private | 0.8 | 0.2 | 2.4 | -1.7 | -15.2 | -22.4 | -12.2 |
| Residential | -0.3 | -0.8 | 4.9 | -2.1 | -2.9 | -29.9 | -29.0 |
| Nonresidential | 1.8 | 1.2 | 0.1 | -1.3 | -24.0 | -16.0 | 10.5 |
| Public | -0.7 | 0.4 | -2.0 | -9.6 | -3.9 | 2.1 | 6.6 |
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.
