U.S. Construction Spending Rises Less Than Expected in February
Summary
- Total construction gains for the 12th consecutive month; Jan. and Dec. revised up.
- Residential private construction rises for the seventh straight month, led by single-family building.
- Nonresidential private construction posts the smallest gain in eight months.
- Public sector construction falls for the third time in four months.
The value of construction put-in-place rose 0.5% m/m (11.2% y/y) in February after upwardly revised increases of 1.6% in January (+1.3% initially) and 1.6% in December (+0.8% previously), according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The February m/m reading was the 12th straight monthly rise. A 1.0% February increase had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
Private construction increased 0.8% (14.0% y/y) in February, the seventh consecutive m/m gain, on top of a 1.8% advance in January. Residential private construction rose 1.1% (16.6% y/y) after a 1.7% rise, registering the seventh successive m/m gain. Single-family building grew 2.5% (20.0% y/y), the fourth straight m/m increase, after a 2.6% rise. Multi-family building ticked up 0.1% (7.8% y/y) vs. a 0.1% downtick. Home improvement expenditures, however, slid 0.7% (+14.8% y/y), the first monthly slide since November, following a 0.9% increase.
Nonresidential private construction grew 0.2% (9.7% y/y) in February after a 2.0% gain in January, registering the smallest of eight straight m/m increases. Transportation building rose 2.3% (-0.3% y/y), the third m/m rise in four months. Utilities private construction grew 1.4% (-1.7% y/y) after a 2.3% rise. Lodging construction rose 0.8% (-25.2% y/y) vs. two successive monthly drops. Manufacturing construction increased 0.6% (35.0% y/y), the sixth m/m gain in seven months, on top of an 8.4% rebound. Educational private construction was up 0.2% (16.3% y/y), the smallest of eight straight m/m gains. Communication private construction held steady (-0.7% y/y) following two consecutive monthly declines. Amusement & recreation construction was virtually unchanged (+11.5% y/y) after two consecutive m/m rises. To the downside, commercial building dropped 1.3% (+18.8% y/y) following three straight m/m gains. Religious construction fell 0.7% (-7.7% y/y), the sixth m/m fall in seven months. Heath care private construction declined 0.6% (+9.3% y/y) on top of a 0.9% drop. Office building dipped 0.1% (+6.6% y/y) after slipping 0.1%.
The value of public construction fell 0.4% (+1.5% y/y) in February, the third m/m fall in four months, after a 0.9% rebound in January, with residential public construction up 1.2% (2.7% y/y) and nonresidential public construction down 0.5% (+1.4% y/y). Educational public construction fell 1.3% (-7.9% y/y), the second m/m fall in three months. Spending on highways & streets, which makes up 29.8% of public construction spending, slid 1.3% (+8.3% y/y), the first m/m slide since June. Conservation & development public construction fell 1.3% (+10.1% y/y), the first m/m fall since November. Office public construction declined 0.5% (+7.8% y/y) vs. a 1.6% rebound. Health care public construction fell 0.4% (+16.2% y/y) after having recovered 4.6%. To the upside, water supply construction was up 4.8% (10.5% y/y) and sewage & waste disposal construction was up 2.2% (11.1% y/y). Public safety construction rose 1.8% (-34.3% y/y) after a 1.3% rebound. Commercial public construction recovered 1.7% (-1.5% y/y) after two straight m/m declines. Utilities public construction ticked up 0.1% (18.5% y/y) following two consecutive monthly 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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