U.S. Construction Spending Increases for the Third Straight Month in December
Summary
- Construction spending +0.5% (4.3% y/y) in Dec. vs. +0.2% (4.3% y/y) in Nov.
- Residential private construction +1.5% m/m, led by a 2.6% gain in home improvement building.
- Nonresidential private construction +0.1% m/m, up for the fourth month in five.
- Public sector construction -0.5% m/m, reflecting a 0.5% drop in both residential & nonresidential public buildings.


The value of construction put in place rose an expected 0.5% m/m in December after upwardly revised increases of 0.2% in November (+0.02% initially) and 1.6% in October (+0.5% previously), data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed. The December reading was the third consecutive m/m rise and the fourth in five months. A 0.5% m/m December increase had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The year-on-year rate held at 4.3% in December and November, lower than 9.3% in December 2023; it had remained below its recent high of 9.8% in January 2024 and a peak of 18.6% in April 2022. During all of 2024, construction spending rose 6.5% after rising 6.4% in 2023 and 15.1% in 2022.
Private construction increased 0.9% (4.3% y/y) in December on top of upwardly revised gains of 0.3% in November (+0.1% initially) and 1.9% in October (+0.6% previously). Residential private construction rose 1.5% (6.0% y/y) in December, up for the fourth month in five, following a 0.3% increase in November (+0.1% initially). Home improvement building grew 2.6% (21.9% y/y), the fifth m/m rise in six months, after a 0.8% November gain; it was 41.7% of the residential private construction. Single-family building rose 1.0% (-0.8% y/y), the fourth successive m/m rise, after a 0.4% November increase; it was 45.6% of the residential private construction. Multi-family building, however, slid 0.3% (-10.5% y/y) in December, the 13th straight m/m slide, on top of a 1.3% decrease in November; it was 12.7% of the residential private construction.
Nonresidential private construction edged up 0.1% (2.3% y/y) in December, the fourth m/m increase in five months, following a 0.1% uptick in November (-0.02% initially). The December increase reflected m/m rises in the following nonresidential private constructions. These included office (1.1%; 2.5% y/y), communication (0.6%; -2.4% y/y), and utilities (0.3%; 3.6% y/y). In contrast, the following private constructions fell m/m in December: health care (-0.8%; -3.9% y/y), educational (-0.5%; -0.9% y/y), commercial (-0.3%; -7.5% y/y), amusement & recreation (-0.2%; -1.7% y/y), lodging (-0.2%; -5.1% y/y), and transportation (-0.1%; +10.5% y/y). Meanwhile, manufacturing private construction (+0.05%; +11.1% y/y) and religious private construction (+0.02%; -4.6% y/y) were virtually unchanged m/m in December.
The value of public construction fell 0.5% (+4.3% y/y) in December following a 0.1% downtick in November (unrevised) and an upwardly revised 0.7% gain in October (-0.1% previously), reflecting declines of 0.5% (+12.0% y/y) in residential public construction and 0.5% (+4.1% y/y) in nonresidential public construction. The December fall reflected m/m drops in the following nonresidential public constructions. These included health care (-3.0%; +6.8% y/y), water supply (-2.7%; +13.0% y/y), transportation (-1.3%; +3.0% y/y), conservation & development (-1.2%; -7.1% y/y), sewage & waste disposal (-1.2%; +13.3% y/y), educational (-0.6%; +5.8% y/y), utilities (-0.5%; +2.2% y/y), and amusement & recreation (-0.1%; +19.1% y/y). To the upside, the following public constructions increased m/m in December: commercial (0.1%; 34.5% y/y), office (0.1%; 9.7% y/y), and public safety (0.1%; 13.0% y/y). Notably, spending on highways & streets, which made up 28.4% of public construction spending, rose 0.7% (-5.0% y/y) in December, the fourth m/m rise in five months, after a 0.2% increase in November.
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.