U.S. Construction Spending Eases in July
Summary
- Headline: -0.1% m/m, the third straight m/m fall; -2.8% y/y, the sixth straight y/y slide.
- Residential private construction +0.1% m/m, up for the first time since December.
- Nonresidential private construction -0.5% m/m, the third consecutive m/m decline.
- Public sector construction +0.3% m/m, led by a 1.8% rebound in residential public building.
The value of construction put in place dipped 0.1% m/m in July after declines of 0.4% in June (unrevised) and 0.2% in May (-0.4% previously), data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed. The July reading was the third successive m/m fall and the eighth in nine months. A 0.2% m/m July decline had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The year-on-year rate was -2.8% July following -2.7% in June, registering the sixth consecutive y/y decline. The latest y/y number compared to a positive 5.5% in July 2024; thus, having remained well below its recent high of 12.9% in December 2023 and a peak of 18.4% in April 2022.
Private construction fell 0.2% (-4.6% y/y) in July, the 11th straight m/m fall, after decreases of 0.5% in June (unrevised) and 0.3% in May (-0.6% previously). Residential private construction edged up 0.1% (-5.3% y/y) in July, the first m/m rise since December, following a 0.6% decline in June (-0.7% initially). Single-family building increased 0.1% (-2.1% y/y), up for the first time since February, after a 1.2% June decrease; it was 47.3% of the residential private construction. Home improvement building ticked up 0.1% (-7.6% y/y), the third m/m gain in four months, following a 0.3% June drop; it was 40.0% of the residential private construction. Meanwhile, multi-family building slid 0.4% (-9.4% y/y), the third m/m slide in four months, reversing a 0.1% June uptick; it was 12.8% of the residential private construction.
Nonresidential private construction fell 0.5% (-3.7% y/y) in July, the third straight m/m fall and the fourth in five months, on top of a 0.4% decline in June (-0.3% initially). The July fall reflected m/m declines in the following nonresidential private constructions. These included amusement & recreation (-1.0%; +0.6% y/y), commercial (-0.9%; -9.9% y/y), manufacturing (-0.7%; -6.7% y/y), utilities (-0.7%; +2.6% y/y), religious (-0.3%; +19.2% y/y), and office (-0.2%; -0.4% y/y). To the upside, the following nonresidential private constructions rose m/m in July: transportation (0.6%; -2.8% y/y), health care (0.3%; -1.3% y/y), lodging (0.3%; -5.1% y/y), and educational (0.2%; -5.7% y/y). Meanwhile, communication private construction was virtually unchanged (-0.8% y/y) in July following two successive m/m increases.
The value of public construction rose 0.3% (3.4% y/y) in July, up for the fourth month in five, after holding steady in June (+0.1% initially), reflecting rises of 1.8% (17.4% y/y) in residential public construction and 0.3% (3.1% y/y) in nonresidential public construction. The following nonresidential public construction subcategories rose m/m in July. These included conservation & development (1.8%; 5.7% y/y), utilities (1.7%; -2.1% y/y), health care (1.3%; 14.2% y/y), office (1.3%; 0.3% y/y), water supply (1.2%; 2.8% y/y), amusement & recreation (0.4%; 3.8% y/y), transportation (0.3%; 6.2% y/y), commercial (0.1%; 27.0% y/y), and public safety (0.1%; 3.0% y/y). In contrast, sewage & waste disposal public construction (-0.3%; +11.2% y/y) and educational public construction (-0.1%; -1.2% y/y) declined m/m in July. Notably, spending on highways & streets, which made up 27.7% of public construction spending, eased 0.1% (+0.9% y/y) in July following a 0.3% rebound in June.
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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