Global| Mar 01 2021U.S. Construction Spending Strengthens Again in January
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
• Overall activity sets another record. • Residential building's surge led by single-family sector. • Public-sector building strengthens. Building activity continues to strengthen. The value of construction put-in-place increased 1.7% [...]
• Overall activity sets another record.
• Residential building's surge led by single-family sector.
• Public-sector building strengthens.
Building activity continues to strengthen. The value of construction put-in-place increased 1.7% during January (5.8% y/y) following December's 1.1% gain, revised from 1.0%. A 0.7% January increase had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
Private construction increased 1.7% (6.8% y/y) in January following a 1.5% December rise. Residential construction jumped 2.5% (21.0% y/y) as single-family building surged 3.0% (24.2% y/y), the seventh consecutive month of notably strong increase. Home improvement expenditures strengthened 2.3% (17.9% y/y) after rising 1.8%. The value of multi-family construction edged 0.7% higher (16.9% y/y) following a 0.2% rise.
Nonresidential private construction improved 0.4% in January (-10.1% y/y) following six consecutive monthly declines. Transportation building rose 1.0% (-2.7% y/), strong for the fifth straight month. Lodging construction rose 0.7% (-22.7% y/y) while commercial building weakened 1.8% (-8.3% y/y). Manufacturing construction rose 4.9% (-14.7% y/y) as education construction edged 0.4% higher (-15.7% y/y). Office building eased 0.2% (-4.4% y/y) about as it did in December.
Public construction rose 1.7% during January (2.9% y/y) following a 0.1% December uptick. Spending on highways & streets, which makes up nearly one-third of public spending, surged 5.8% (6.5% y/y) and outlays on health care units improved 0.9% (9.1% y/y). Power construction improved 0.2% (-4.0% y/y) while spending on educational buildings was little changed (0.9% y/y).
The construction spending figures, some of which date back to 1946 can be found in Haver's USECON database. The expectations reading is in the AS1REPNA database.
| Construction Put in Place (SA, %) | Jan | Dec | Nov | Jan Y/Y | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1.7 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 5.8 | 4.6 | 2.3 | 4.1 |
| Private | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 6.8 | 4.5 | 0.6 | 4.0 |
| Residential | 2.5 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 21.0 | 11.1 | -2.5 | 3.5 |
| Nonresidential | 0.4 | -1.9 | -0.7 | -10.1 | -3.0 | 4.4 | 4.7 |
| Public | 1.7 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 2.9 | 5.2 | 8.0 | 4.4 |
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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