U.S. Construction Spending Declines in July, Led by Residential Weakness
Summary
- Headline -0.5% m/m in July, first decrease since Apr.; -3.8% y/y, 12th straight y/y drop.
- Residential private construction -1.3% m/m, driven by a 3.2% fall in single-family building.
- Nonresidential private construction +0.4% m/m, third consecutive monthly gain, boosted by data center office construction.
- Public construction -0.2% m/m, led by a 0.4% decline in residential public building.
The value of construction put in place unexpectedly fell 0.5% m/m in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,157.6 billion following no change in June (-0.1% initially) and May (unrevised), according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The July reading was the first m/m fall since April (-1.4%). A flat reading for July had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The year-on-year rate was -3.8% in July, the 12th straight y/y decline and the deepest in three months, after -3.1% in June (+0.1% in July 2025), remaining well below a high of 13.1% in November 2023 and a peak of 18.5% in April 2022.
Private construction slid 0.5% (-5.5% y/y) to $1,614.2 billion in July, the fourth consecutive m/m slide and the sixth in seven months, after a 0.1% downtick in June (unrevised). Residential private construction fell 1.3% (-7.3% y/y) to $859.0 billion in July, down for the fourth month running, after a downwardly revised 0.5% decline in June (-0.3% initially). Single-family building dropped 3.2% (-6.5% y/y), the third successive m/m fall, after a 0.1% June downtick; it was 46.0% of the residential private construction. Home improvement building, however, rebounded 0.3% (-10.2% y/y), the first m/m gain since March, following a 0.8% June decline; it was 40.6% of the residential private construction. Multi-family building rose 0.2% (-0.9% y/y), the first m/m rise in four months, after a 0.7% June decrease; it was 13.4% of the residential private construction.
Nonresidential private construction grew 0.4% (-3.3% y/y) to $755.2 billion in July, the third consecutive m/m increase, after an upwardly revised 0.4% rise in June (+0.1% initially). The July gain reflected m/m increases in nonresidential private construction categories for office (+3.3%; +21.3% y/y), communication (+0.6%; +3.3% y/y), utilities (+0.5%; +6.5% y/y), lodging (+0.3%; -9.9% y/y), and transportation (+0.3%; -1.6% y/y). Significantly, within the office category, private construction for data center jumped 6.2% (57.2% y/y) in July, the eighth straight m/m gain, on top of a 7.7% advance in June. To the downside, the following nonresidential private construction categories fell m/m in July, including educational (-1.0%; -5.0% y/y), religious (-1.0%; +19.2% y/y), manufacturing (-0.8%; -21.7% y/y), amusement & recreation (-0.6%; +3.4% y/y), health care (-0.4%; -5.3% y/y), and commercial (-0.2%; -4.7% y/y).
The value of public construction was down 0.2% (+1.7% y/y) to $543.4 billion in July, the first m/m decrease since December, after an upwardly revised 0.1% increase in June (0.0% initially), reflecting declines of 0.4% (-5.2% y/y) in residential public construction and 0.2% (+1.9% y/y) in nonresidential public construction. Several nonresidential public construction categories fell m/m in July, led by conservation & development (-1.4%; +26.9% y/y), followed by transportation (-0.8%; +3.3% y/y), health care (-0.7%; +7.9% y/y), educational (-0.2%; +0.4% y/y), office (-0.2%; -7.9% y/y), and amusement & recreation (-0.1%; +2.5% y/y). Notably, spending on highways & streets, which accounted for 27.7% of public construction spending, declined 0.2% (+4.5% y/y) following a 0.1% June easing and two successive m/m gains. In contrast, the following public constructions rose m/m in July, led by commercial (+2.5%; -8.7% y/y), followed by water supply (+0.5%; +1.1% y/y), public safety (+0.4%; -8.4% y/y), sewage & waste disposal (+0.4%; -1.1% y/y), and utilities (+0.1%; -3.7% y/y).
The construction figures can be found in Haver's USECON database. The expectations figure is from the Action Economics Forecast Survey in AS1REPNA.
Winnie Tapasanun
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Winnie Tapasanun has been working for Haver Analytics since 2013. She has 20+ years of working in the financial services industry. As Vice President and Economic Analyst at Globicus International, Inc., a New York-based company specializing in macroeconomics and financial markets, Winnie oversaw the company’s business operations, managed financial and economic data, and wrote daily reports on macroeconomics and financial markets. Prior to working at Globicus, she was Investment Promotion Officer at the New York Office of the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) where she wrote monthly reports on the U.S. economic outlook, wrote reports on the outlook of key U.S. industries, and assisted investors on doing business and investment in Thailand. Prior to joining the BOI, she was Adjunct Professor teaching International Political Economy/International Relations at the City College of New York. Prior to her teaching experience at the CCNY, Winnie successfully completed internships at the United Nations. Winnie holds an MA Degree from Long Island University, New York. She also did graduate studies at Columbia University in the City of New York and doctoral requirements at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Her areas of specialization are international political economy, macroeconomics, financial markets, political economy, international relations, and business development/business strategy. Her regional specialization includes, but not limited to, Southeast Asia and East Asia. Winnie is bilingual in English and Thai with competency in French. She loves to travel (~30 countries) to better understand each country’s unique economy, fascinating culture and people as well as the global economy as a whole.
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