U.S. Construction Spending Unexpectedly Decreases in April
Summary
- Headline: -0.4% m/m, the third straight m/m fall; -0.5% y/y, the first negative y/y pace since Apr. ’19.
- Residential private construction -0.9% m/m, led by a 1.1% drop in single-family building.
- Nonresidential private construction -0.5% m/m, down for the third month in four.
- Public sector construction +0.4% m/m, reflecting a 0.5% rise in nonresidential public building.
The value of construction put in place unexpectedly fell 0.4% m/m in April after downwardly revised declines of 0.8% in March (-0.5% initially) and 0.7% in February (+0.6% previously), data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed. The March reading was the third successive m/m fall following four consecutive m/m rises. A 0.3% m/m April increase had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The year-on-year rate was -0.5% in April following +1.2% in March, registering the first negative y/y pace since April 2019 (-0.1% y/y) and the deepest since March 2019 (-1.8% y/y). The latest y/y number compared to a positive 8.7% in April 2024; thus, having remained well below its recent high of 9.8% in January 2024 and a peak of 18.6% in April 2022.
Private construction declined 0.7% (-2.2% y/y) in April following decreases of 1.0% in March (-0.6% initially) and 1.1% in February (+0.7% previously) and four straight m/m gains. Residential private construction fell 0.9% (-4.8% y/y) in April, down for the third successive month, after a 1.2% fall in March (-0.4% initially). Single-family building dropped 1.1% (-2.2% y/y), the first m/m decline since August 2024, after a 0.1% March increase; it was 48.1% of the residential private construction. Home improvement building slid 0.8% (-5.5% y/y), the third consecutive m/m slide and the fourth in five months, on top of a 3.1% March decrease; it was 38.9% of the residential private construction. Multi-family building dipped 0.1% (-11.3% y/y) following a 0.1% March uptick, a 0.3% February increase, and a string of declines during the January 2025 to December 2023 period; it was 13.0% of the residential private construction.
Nonresidential private construction fell 0.5% (+1.0% y/y) in April, the third m/m fall in four months, after an unrevised 0.8% drop in March. The April fall reflected m/m declines in the following nonresidential private constructions. These included religious (-2.6%; +16.3% y/y), commercial (-1.0%; -5.4% y/y), utilities (-0.7%; +6.3% y/y), lodging (-0.6%; -2.5% y/y), manufacturing (-0.6%; 0.0% y/y), health care (-0.4%; -1.3% y/y), communication (-0.3%; +1.5% y/y), and office (-0.2%; +3.9% y/y). To the upside, the following nonresidential private constructions rose m/m in April: amusement & recreation (1.1%; 8.2% y/y), transportation (0.4%; 7.7% y/y), and educational (0.3%; -0.3% y/y).
The value of public construction rose 0.4% (5.5% y/y) in April, the third m/m rise in four months, after holding steady in March (-0.2% initially), reflecting a 0.6% drop (-0.8% y/y) in residential public construction and a 0.5% increase (5.6% y/y) in nonresidential public construction. The April rise reflected m/m gains in the following nonresidential public constructions. These included commercial (3.8%; 43.8% y/y), health care (3.3%; 18.8% y/y), office (1.2%; 3.5% y/y), transportation (0.7%; 6.7% y/y), water supply (0.4%; 7.4% y/y), amusement & recreation (0.3%; 14.2% y/y), sewage & waste disposal (0.2%; 9.4% y/y), and public safety (0.1%; 3.9% y/y). Notably, spending on highways & streets, which made up 28.5% of public construction spending, rebounded 0.5% (0.4% y/y) in April, the fifth m/m increase in six months, following a 0.7% drop in March. In contrast, the following nonresidential public constructions fell m/m in April: conservation & development (-1.5%; +1.2% y/y), utilities (-0.7%; -9.1% y/y), and educational (-0.1%; +8.3% 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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