U.S. Construction Spending Registers a String of Declines in May
Summary
- Headline: -0.3% m/m, the seventh straight m/m fall; -3.5% y/y, the deepest y/y drop since May ’11.
- Residential private construction -0.5% m/m, led by a 1.8% fall in single-family building.
- Nonresidential private construction -0.4% m/m, the third straight m/m slide.
- Public sector construction +0.1% m/m, led by a 1.4% gain in residential public building.
The value of construction put in place unexpectedly fell 0.3% m/m in May after revised declines of 0.2% in April (-0.4% initially) and 0.7% in March (-0.8% previously), data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed. The May reading was the seventh consecutive m/m fall. A 0.3% m/m May increase had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The year-on-year rate was -3.5% in May following -2.8% in April, registering the fourth successive y/y decline and the deepest since May 2011 (-5.9% y/y). The latest y/y number compared to a positive 7.8% in May 2024; thus, having remained well below its recent high of 12.9% in December 2023 and a peak of 18.4% in April 2022. (Note: Today the Census Bureau released standard annual revisions along with May 2025 construction spending data. NSA series were revised back to 2023, and SA series were revised back to 2018.)
Private construction slid 0.5% (-5.4% y/y) in May, the ninth straight m/m slide, after decreases of 0.5% in April (-0.7% initially) and 1.1% in March (-1.0% previously). Residential private construction fell 0.5% (-6.7% y/y) in May, down for the fifth consecutive month, on top of a 0.5% fall in April (-0.9% initially). Single-family building fell 1.8% (-4.5% y/y), the third successive m/m fall, after a 1.5% April decline; it was 47.4% of the residential private construction. Home improvement building, however, rose 0.9% (-7.8% y/y) following a 0.7% April rise and three straight m/m decreases; it was 39.7% of the residential private construction. Meanwhile, multi-family building was virtually unchanged (-10.9% y/y) after a 0.1% April easing and three consecutive m/m increases; it was 12.9% of the residential private construction.
Nonresidential private construction fell 0.4% (-3.9% y/y) in May, down for the third successive month, after a 0.6% drop in April (-0.5% initially). The May fall reflected m/m declines in the following nonresidential private constructions. These included religious (-1.7%; +11.6% y/y), lodging (-1.3%; -8.3% y/y), transportation (-0.9%; -3.8% y/y), commercial (-0.8%; -12.0% y/y), utilities (-0.6%; +0.6% y/y), office (-0.2%; +0.8% y/y), educational (-0.1%; -4.3% y/y), and manufacturing (-0.1%; -3.8% y/y). To the upside, the following nonresidential private constructions rose m/m in May: health care (0.4%; -3.8% y/y), amusement & recreation (0.3%; -1.6% y/y), and communication (0.3%; -1.5% y/y).
The value of public construction edged up 0.1% (3.3% y/y) in May, the third straight m/m increase, after a 0.6% rise in April (+0.4% initially), reflecting a 1.4% gain (8.4% y/y) in residential public construction and no change (3.1% y/y) in nonresidential public construction. The following nonresidential public construction subcategories registered m/m gains in May. These included public safety (0.8%; 6.8% y/y), amusement & recreation (0.7%; 8.6% y/y), transportation (0.6%; 7.4% y/y), conservation & development (0.5%; 5.2% y/y), sewage & waste disposal (0.5%; 9.6% y/y), health care (0.4%; 15.1% y/y), and educational (0.2%; -0.3% y/y). In contrast, the following nonresidential public constructions fell m/m in May: commercial (-1.5%; +29.1% y/y), office (-0.5%; +2.1% y/y), water supply (-0.5%; +6.1% y/y), and utilities (-0.1%; -9.8% y/y). Notably, spending on highways & streets, which made up 28.0% of public construction spending, fell 0.3% (-0.3% y/y) in May, the first m/m fall since February, following a 0.9% increase in April.
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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