October 1 2024
Construction spending (the green bars above) declined 0.1% in August after having fallen 0.5% in July and 1.1% in June. Construction spending climbed sharply in the first four months of this year, but it has slowed considerably beginning in June. In the past 12 months it has risen 4.1%. But in the past three months it has declined slightly..
Private construction spending (excluding the government sector) fell 0.2% in August after declining 0.7% in July and 1.4% in June. In the past year private construction has risen 3.1%. In the past three months it has fallen at a 9.2% annual rate.
Within the private construction spending category, residential spending declined 0.3% after having fallen 1.0% in July and 3.1% in June. In the past 12 months residential construction spending has risen 2.7%. However, in the past three months it has fallen at a 17.5% annual rate. Hopefully, the recent decline in mortgage rates should provide a lift to this sector in the months ahead.
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Nonresidential construction fell 0.1% in August after declining 0.4% in July. It had been climbing rapidly but has flattened out in the past six months, In the past 12 months nonresidential construction has risen 3.6%. In the past three months it has risen at a 1.2% pace.
Public sector construction rose 0.3% in August after having climbed 0.5% in July. In the past year such spending has risen 7.8%. The increase in this category in the past year has been led by construction of offices, commercial space, health care, educational, amusement and recreation, power, highway and street, sewage and waste disposal, water supply, and conservation and development. But in the past three months that rate of increase has slowed to a 2.2% pace.
.Stephen Slifer
NumberNomics
Charleston, SC
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