U.S. Construction Spending Rebounds in December After Three Straight M/M Declines
Summary
- Headline +0.3% m/m, first m/m rise since August; -0.4% y/y, 11th consecutive y/y fall.
- Residential private construction +1.5% m/m, led by a 1.8% rebound in home improvement building.
- Nonresidential private construction -0.7% m/m, fifth m/m decline in six months.
- Public construction -0.5% m/m, reflecting drops in both residential & nonresidential public buildings.
The value of construction put in place rose a slightly-more-than-expected 0.3% m/m in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,168.8 billion, reversing declines of 0.2% in November and 0.1% in October (+0.5% previously), data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed. December marked the first m/m gain since August and the highest level in three months. A 0.2% m/m increase had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey for both November and December. The year-on-year rate was -0.4% in December following -1.4% in November, registering the 11th consecutive y/y decline. The latest y/y figure compared with a flat y/y reading in December 2024, remaining well below a high of 12.9% in December 2023 and a peak of 18.4% in April 2022. For all of 2025, construction spending fell 1.4% after gains of 5.7% in 2024 and 9.1% in 2023.
Private construction rebounded 0.5% (-1.5% y/y) to $1,647.1 billion in December, the first m/m gain in four months, after decreases of 0.2% in November and 0.1% in October (+0.6% previously). Residential private construction advanced 1.5% (-1.3% y/y) to $916.2 billion in December, the first m/m rise since August, after no change in November. Single-family building climbed 1.6% (-3.6% y/y) following a 0.6% November increase and eight straight m/m declines; it was 45.5% of the residential private construction. Multi-family building edged up 0.1% (2.9% y/y), the sixth m/m increase in seven months, after a 1.1% November rise; it was 12.7% of the residential private construction. Home improvement building recovered 1.8% (0.0% y/y), up the second time in three months, after a 1.0% November drop; it was 41.8% of the residential private construction.
Nonresidential private construction fell 0.7% (-1.8% y/y) to $730.9 billion in December, the third successive m/m fall and the fifth in six months, on top of a 0.5% decline in November. The December decrease reflected m/m drops across several nonresidential private construction categories, led by manufacturing (-2.5%; -11.4% y/y), followed by religious (-1.7%; +8.5% y/y), amusement & recreation (-1.1%; +7.9% y/y), health care (-0.8%; -3.7% y/y), commercial (-0.4%; +0.3% y/y), educational (-0.4%; +5.2% y/y), lodging (-0.2%; -1.1% y/y), and communication (-0.1%; -0.8% y/y). To the upside, nonresidential private constructions for utilities (+0.8%; +6.4% y/y) and office (+0.5%; +3.3% y/y) rose m/m in December. Meanwhile, transportation private construction was virtually unchanged (+4.6% y/y) after a 0.4% November decline.
The value of public construction fell 0.5% (+3.5% y/y) to $521.7 billion in December after m/m declines of 0.2% in November and 0.1% in October (+0.1% initially), reflecting drops of 2.7% (+9.1% y/y) in residential public construction and 0.4% (+3.4% y/y) in nonresidential public construction. Several nonresidential public construction categories declined m/m in December, led by water supply (-2.2%; +8.8% y/y), followed by public safety (-1.0%; +3.8% y/y), educational (-0.8%; -1.4% y/y), commercial (-0.6%; +7.3% y/y), transportation (-0.4%; +5.5% y/y), health care (-0.3%; +7.1% y/y), office (-0.3%; -2.6% y/y), and conservation & development (-0.1%; +8.7% y/y). Notably, spending on highways & streets, which accounted for 27.1% of public construction spending, slid 0.3% (+0.8% y/y) in December following a 0.4% rebound in November. In contrast, public constructions for utilities (+1.2%; +1.8% y/y), amusement & recreation (+0.5%; +4.6% y/y), and sewage & waste disposal (+0.3%; +14.2% y/y) gained m/m in December.
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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