U.S. Construction Spending Continues Its String of Gains in April But at a Slower Pace
Summary
- Total construction gains for the 14th consecutive month; Mar. and Feb. revised up.
- Residential private construction rises for the ninth straight month, led by home improvement building.
- Nonresidential private construction declines for the second consecutive month.
- Public sector construction falls for the second time in three months; all subcategories fall except amusement & recreation.
The value of construction put-in-place increased 0.2% m/m (12.3% y/y) in April after upwardly revised rises of 0.3% in March (+0.1% initially) and 1.0% in February (+0.5% previously), according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The April m/m reading was the 14th straight monthly rise. A 0.6% April increase had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
Private construction grew 0.5% (15.3% y/y) in April, the ninth consecutive m/m gain, on top of a 0.2% increase in March. Residential private construction rose 0.9% (18.4% y/y) after a 0.7% rise, registering the ninth successive m/m gain. Home improvement building advanced 1.5% (23.1% y/y), the first monthly increase since January, following a 0.1% downtick. Multi-family building rebounded 0.8% (3.1% y/y), the largest m/m gain since December, after a 0.4% decline. Single-family building rose 0.5% (19.3% y/y), the smallest of six straight m/m increases, after a 1.5% rise.
Nonresidential private construction declined 0.2% (+10.1% y/y) in April following a 0.7% March drop and eight straight m/m gains. Religious construction fell 7.4% (-14.6% y/y), the fifth m/m fall in six months and the deepest since April 2020. Transportation building dropped 5.3% (-0.6% y/y) and utilities private construction fell 1.5% (-0.03% y/y); both were their second consecutive monthly declines. Heath care private construction slid 0.9% (+4.3% y/y), the third m/m slide in four months. Commercial building declined 0.2% (+19.2% y/y) following a 1.5% March drop and four straight m/m rises. To the upside, manufacturing construction recovered 1.6% (33.9% y/y), the third m/m gain in four months. Amusement & recreation private construction rebounded 1.3% (16.1% y/y), the fourth m/m rise in five months. Lodging construction rose 1.0% (-20.2% y/y), the third successive m/m gain. Educational private construction recovered 0.8% (20.5% y/y), the ninth m/m advance in 10 months. Communication private construction increased 0.2% (0.5% y/y), the third consecutive monthly gain. Office building ticked up 0.1% (5.4% y/y), the smallest of three straight m/m increases.
The value of public construction fell 0.7% (+1.8% y/y) in April after a 0.4% rebound in March, with residential public construction down 1.2% (+1.8% y/y) and nonresidential public construction down 0.7% (+1.8% y/y). Commercial public construction decreased 5.3% (-7.0% y/y) after three straight m/m rises. Health care public construction fell 4.2% (+6.7% y/y), the largest m/m fall since November 2020. Office public construction slid 3.2% (+1.8% y/y), the fourth m/m slide in five months. Water supply construction dropped 3.0% (+2.4% y/y) vs. two consecutive m/m rises. Utilities public construction fell 1.7% (+22.8% y/y) following three straight monthly increases. Public safety construction declined 1.6% (-9.7% y/y) vs. a 4.5% gain. Educational public construction fell 0.7% (-5.6% y/y), the fourth m/m fall in five months. Conservation & development public construction were down 0.3% (+27.0% y/y), the first m/m decrease since November. Sewage & waste disposal construction declined 0.3% (+8.8% y/y), the first m/m drop since December. Spending on highways & streets, which makes up 29.5% of public construction spending, dipped 0.1% (+6.3% y/y), the fourth successive m/m decline. In contrast, amusement & recreation public construction rebounded 0.9% (-4.0% y/y) following two straight m/m drops.
The construction spending figures, some of which date back to 1946, can be found in Haver's USECON database. The expectations reading is in the AS1REPNA database.
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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