U.S. Construction Spending Rises for the Third Consecutive Month in October
Summary
- October construction spending +0.4% m/m; +5.0% y/y, the lowest y/y rate since May ’23.
- Residential private construction +1.5% m/m, led by a 2.7% rebound in home improvement building.
- Nonresidential private construction -0.3% m/m, the first monthly decline since July.
- Public sector 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 0.4% m/m in October on top of a 0.1% increase in September (unrevised) and an upwardly revised 0.9% gain in August (+0.1% previously), data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed. The October reading was the third consecutive m/m rise following a 0.04% July downtick and a 1.1% June drop. A 0.3% m/m October increase had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The year-on-year rate decelerated to 5.0% in October from 5.3% in September, registering the lowest y/y pace since May 2023’s 4.2%. The latest y/y figure was lower than 8.6% in October 2023, having remained below its recent high of 9.8% in January 2024 and a peak of 18.6% in April 2022.
Private construction increased 0.7% (5.1% y/y) in October following a 0.2% decline in September (+0.03% initially) and a 1.0% increase in August (+0.2% previously). Residential private construction rebounded 1.5% (6.4% y/y) in October, up for the second month in three, following a 0.4% decline in September (+0.2% initially). Home improvement building recovered 2.7% (18.5% y/y), the third m/m gain in four months, following a 1.4% September drop; it was 41.2% of the residential private construction. Single-family building advanced 0.8% (1.3% y/y) after a 0.6% September rebound; it was 45.4% of the residential private construction. Multi-family building grew 0.2% (-6.8% y/y) in October, the first m/m gain since November 2023, reversing a 0.2% decline in September; it was 13.4% of the residential private construction.
Nonresidential private construction fell 0.3% (+3.5% y/y) in October, the first m/m fall since July, following a 0.05% uptick in September (-0.1% initially). The October fall reflected m/m drops in the following nonresidential private constructions. These included health care (-1.4%; -0.1% y/y), educational (-1.3%; +2.9% y/y), amusement & recreation (-1.2%; -0.4% y/y), commercial (-1.1%; -11.2% y/y), and lodging (-0.4%; -7.1% y/y). In contrast, the following private constructions rose m/m in October: religious (4.0%; 0.3% y/y), office (0.5%; 0.4% y/y), utilities (0.2%; 5.3% y/y), and transportation (0.1%; 10.1% y/y). Meanwhile, manufacturing private construction (-0.03%; +16.3% y/y) and communication private construction (+0.01%; -3.0% y/y) were virtually unchanged m/m in October.
The value of public construction fell 0.5% (+4.5% y/y) in October after upwardly revised rises of 1.1% in September (+0.5% initially) and 0.4% in August (+0.04% previously), reflecting declines of 0.5% (+6.4% y/y) in residential public construction and 0.5% (+4.5% y/y) in nonresidential public construction. The October fall reflected m/m drops in the following nonresidential public constructions. These included conservation & development (-3.3%; -10.6% y/y), sewage & waste disposal (-1.5%; +6.1% y/y), utilities (-1.5%; +2.9% y/y), water supply (-0.6%; +17.1% y/y), educational (-0.4%; +0.6% y/y), health care (-0.3%; +8.7% y/y), and transportation (-0.1%; +5.4% y/y). Notably, spending on highways & streets, which made up 28.4% of public construction spending, slid 0.7% (-1.2% y/y) in October, the fist m/m slide in three months, following a 0.9% increase in September. To the upside, the following public constructions rose m/m in October: office (2.0%; 10.3% y/y), public safety (1.1%; 21.4% y/y), amusement & recreation (0.9%; 20.7% y/y), and commercial (0.7%; 34.3% 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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