Global| Apr 01 2015U.S. Construction Spending Weakens
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The value of construction put-in-place slipped 0.1% during February following a 1.7% drop in January, revised from -1.1%. No change had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Private construction activity gained 0.2% [...]
The value of construction put-in-place slipped 0.1% during February following a 1.7% drop in January, revised from -1.1%. No change had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
Private construction activity gained 0.2% (1.8% y/y) after its 1.1% January drop. Nonresidential building activity improved 0.5% (5.9% y/y). Office construction rose 2.7% (22.8% y/y) but commercial building fell 2.4% (+13.1% y/y). Multi-retail declined 3.1% (-1.7% y/y). Residential building slipped 0.2% (-2.1% y/y), reversing a 0.2% January rise. Single-family building fell 1.4% (+9.7% y/y) while multi-family construction jumped 4.1% (31.5% y/y). Spending on improvements edged 0.3% higher (-28.4% y/y).
Public sector building activity eased 0.8% (+3.1% y/y) following a 3.2% drop. Nonresidential building fell 0.8% (+2.9% y/y) but commercial construction rebounded 12.0% (26.5% y/y) after an 8.4% drop. Power construction fell 16.0% (-19.7% y/y) while highways and streets construction edged 0.2% lower (+2.8% y/y). Construction here amounts to 32% of public sector building activity.
The construction spending figures are in Haver's USECON database and the expectations figure is contained in the AS1REPNA database.
| Construction Put in Place (%) | Feb | Jan | Dec | Feb Y/Y | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | -0.1 | -1.7 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 6.1 | 5.7 | 9.2 |
| Private | 0.2 | -1.1 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 8.0 | 10.1 | 16.0 |
| Residential | -0.2 | 0.2 | 0.8 | -2.1 | 5.1 | 20.4 | 14.4 |
| Nonresidential | 0.5 | -2.4 | 1.1 | 5.9 | 11.2 | 0.6 | 17.5 |
| Public | -0.8 | -3.2 | 1.3 | 3.1 | 1.5 | -3.5 | -2.8 |
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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