U.S. Construction Spending Unexpectedly Eases in April
Summary
- April construction spending -0.1% m/m; +10.0% y/y, the lowest since Sept. ’23.
- Residential private construction increases 0.1% m/m, led by a 0.3% rebound in home improvement building.
- Nonresidential private construction falls 0.3% m/m, down for the third month in four.
- Public sector construction declines 0.2% m/m, reflecting m/m drops in both residential & nonresidential public buildings.
The value of construction put in place edged down 0.1% m/m in April after an unrevised 0.2% decline in March and an upwardly revised 0.9% gain in February (0.0% previously), according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The April reading was the third m/m fall in four months following m/m rises every month in 2023. A 0.3% m/m April increase had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The year-on-year rate decelerated to 10.0% in April, the lowest since September 2023, from 10.5% in March. The latest y/y figure, while above a low of 1.3% in April 2023, was lower than a high of 14.1% in December 2023 and a peak of 16.5% in April 2022.
Private construction dipped 0.1% (+8.1% y/y) in April, the third m/m decline in four months, following a 0.6% drop in March (-0.5% initially) and a 1.0% increase in February (+0.2% previously). Residential private construction edged up 0.1% (8.0% y/y) in April, the second m/m increase in three months, after a 0.4% decline in March. Home improvement building, rose 0.3% (-3.5% y/y), up for the second month in three, following a 1.2% March drop; it was 35.8% of the residential private construction. Single-family building inched up 0.1% (20.4% y/y), the 12th straight m/m gain, after a 0.1% March uptick; it was 49.3% of the residential private construction. Multi-family building, however, fell 0.3% (+2.3% y/y), down for the third months in four, after a 0.2% March decline; it was 14.8% of the residential private construction.
Nonresidential private construction fell 0.3% (+8.3% y/y) in April, the third m/m fall in four months, on top of a 0.7% drop in March. The April fall reflected m/m drops in the following nonresidential private constructions. These included religious (-3.5%; +30.6% y/y), educational (-3.1%; +13.8% y/y), health care (-2.9%; +7.1% y/y), lodging (-1.6%; -3.5% y/y), commercial (-1.1%; +0.02% y/y), amusement & recreation (-1.0%; +11.2% y/y), and communication (-0.6%; +2.6% y/y). In contrast, the following private constructions rose m/m in April: manufacturing (0.9%; 17.1% y/y), transportation (0.5%; 5.0% y/y), office (0.4%; 4.4% y/y), and utilities (0.1%; 7.4% y/y).
The value of public construction fell 0.2% (+16.7% y/y) in April following upwardly revised rises of 1.1% in March (+0.8% initially) and 0.3% in February (-0.4% previously), reflecting declines of 0.3% (+18.5% y/y) in residential public construction and 0.2% (+16.7% y/y) in nonresidential public construction. The April fall reflected m/m drops in the following nonresidential public constructions. These included sewage & waste disposal (-0.6%; +8.7% y/y), health care (-0.5%; +6.9% y/y), amusement & recreation (-0.3%; +19.7% y/y), educational (-0.2%; +16.8% y/y), office (-0.2%; +10.6% y/y), commercial (-0.1%; -3.9% y/y), public safety (-0.1%; +50.8% y/y), and utilities (-0.1%; +79.3% y/y). Notably, spending on highways & streets, which made up 30.7% of public construction spending, slid 0.5% (+16.4% y/y) in April, the third m/m slide in four months, following a 2.2% March rise. To the upside, the following transportation public constructions increased m/m in April: conservation & development (1.0%; -5.8% y/y), transportation (0.5%; 6.0% y/y), and water supply (0.5%; 20.8% 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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