Construction spending offered a disappointing report for August, though private residential construction was a bright spot, according to data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Overall, construction spending was down 0.6% for the month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $837.1 billion, but up 6.5% year-over-year. Excluding residential improvement numbers, a poorly estimated category, spending was down 0.4%. The blow was somewhat softened, however, by upward revisions to spending estimates for June and July, especially in the residential sectors. Had those estimates not been moved up, August’s number would have been positive.
Private residential spending was up 0.9% compared with July, and 17.8% higher year-over-year; without residential improvements, the category was up a strong 3.0%. Single-family spending was up 2.8% on a monthly basis and 20.8% higher year-over-year. Multifamily spending was up 3.7% and 44.8% on a monthly and yearly basis, respectively.
Private nonresidential spending was down 1.7% for the month, and public construction spending fell 0.8%.
See the Census Bureau’s full report on August’s construction spending numbers.
Claire Easley is a senior editor at Builder.
