Global| Dec 03 2018U.S. Construction Spending Continues to Weaken
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The value of construction put-in-place eased 0.1% (+4.9% y/y) during October. The weakening was the same as in September, revised from no change. It followed a 0.4% August decline, revised from +0.8%. A 0.4% increase had been expected [...]
The value of construction put-in-place eased 0.1% (+4.9% y/y) during October. The weakening was the same as in September, revised from no change. It followed a 0.4% August decline, revised from +0.8%. A 0.4% increase had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
In the private sector, activity fell 0.4% (+3.9% y/y) and reversed a 0.4% September gain. Residential building activity deceased 0.5% (+1.8% y/y) following a 0.1% uptick. Single-family construction fell 0.5% (+2.4% y/y), down for seven months in the last eight. Multi-family construction improved 1.0% (3.2% y/y) after a 7.1% surge. Home improvement activity fell 0.9% (+0.4% y/y) and has been falling all year.
Nonresidential construction in October fell 0.3% (+6.4% y/y) after a 0.7% rise. Power facility construction fell 2.4% (+9.4% y/y), down for the fourth month in the last five. The value of commercial building activity declined 0.6% (+0.6% y/y) after a 0.4% increase. Construction of educational buildings improved 0.7% (8.2% y/y) after an 8.7% jump. Easing by 0.9% (-0.7% y/y) was health care building, about the same as in September. The value of transportation building declined 0.9% (+7.8% y/y) and reversed the prior month's increase. Factory sector construction fell 1.0% (+3.1% y/y) following a 0.5% rise. Office construction rose an improved 3.1% (16.3% y/y).
Construction activity in the public sector increased 0.8% (8.5% y/y) in October, after a 1.5% decline. Commercial construction rose 9.5% (26.4% y/y) after a 5.9% increase. Power facility construction increased 1.8% (-1.8% y/y) after two months of sharp decline. Highway and street building, which accounts for about one-third of nonresidential building, eased 0.1% (+5.2% y/y) following a 2.0% drop. Educational building gained 2.6% (9.2% y/y) following a 1.6% rise.
The construction spending figures, some of which date back to 1946 (e.g., public construction figures), are in Haver's USECON database and the expectations figure can be found in the AS1REPNA database.
| Construction Put in Place (SA, %) | Oct | Sep | Aug | Oct Y/Y | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | -0.1 | -0.1 | -0.4 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 7.0 | 10.7 |
| Private | -0.4 | 0.4 | -1.3 | 3.9 | 7.1 | 9.2 | 12.9 |
| Residential | -0.5 | 0.1 | -2.6 | 1.8 | 12.4 | 10.7 | 14.2 |
| Nonresidential | -0.3 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 6.4 | 1.3 | 7.7 | 11.5 |
| Public | 0.8 | -1.5 | 2.4 | 8.5 | -3.2 | 0.7 | 5.1 |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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