Global| Sep 04 2012U.S. Construction Spending Slumps
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The value of construction put-in-place fell a sharp 0.9% during July after an unrevised 0.4% June gain. A 0.4% increase had been expected. Private sector spending led the decline with a 1.2% drop (+15.0% y/y) after a 0.6% June uptick. [...]
The value of construction put-in-place fell a sharp 0.9% during July
after an unrevised 0.4% June gain. A 0.4% increase had been expected.
Private sector spending led the decline with a 1.2% drop (+15.0% y/y)
after a 0.6% June uptick. Residential building fell 1.6% (+17.6% y/y), its
first decline since March. Single-family construction dropped 1.5% (+19.1%
y/y) but multi-family building jumped another 2.8% (44.5% y/y). The value
of spending on improvements fell 5.5% (+14.9% y/y) and reversed three
months of increase.
In the public sector, building activity slipped 0.4% m/m (-0.7% y/y). Spending on highways & streets, which is 29% of total public construction spending, slipped 0.3% (+5.2% y/y) after five consecutive months of increase. Transportation spending, which is 10% of total public, increased 0.7% (11.5% y/y) while office building rose another 1.1% (-2.1% y/y). Educational building activity continued lower by 0.6% (-5.0% y/y) and water supply construction fell 2.0% (-11.6% y/y).
The construction spending figures are in Haver's USECON database and the expectations figure is contained in the AS1REPNA database.
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| Construction Put in Place (%) | Jul | Jun | May | Y/Y | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | -0.9 | 0.4 | 1.7 | 9.3 | -3.1 | -11.2 | -15.3 |
| Private | -1.2 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 15.0 | -1.1 | -15.2 | -22.4 |
| Residential | -1.6 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 19.0 | -1.0 | -2.9 | -29.9 |
| Nonresidential | -0.9 | -0.9 | 0.4 | 11.7 | -1.3 | -24.0 | -16.0 |
| Public | -0.4 | 0.0 | 1.4 | -0.7 | -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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