Updated: 01-Jul-21 10:53 ET
| May Construction Spending |
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| Updated: 01-Jul-21 10:53 ET |
Highlights
- Total construction spending decreased 0.3% m/m in May (Briefing.com consensus +0.3%) following a downwardly revised 0.1% increase (from 0.2%) in April.
- Total private construction declined 0.3% m/m while total public construction spending fell 0.2%.
Key Factors
- Total residential spending was up 0.2% m/m (and up 28.2% yr/yr) while total nonresidential spending dropped 0.7% (and was down 7.1% yr/yr).
- The increase in private construction spending was driven by a 0.2% increase in residential spending (up 28.7% yr/yr), which was paced by a 0.8% increase in new single family construction. New multifamily construction was flat.
- Private nonresidential spending fell 1.1% m/m, weighed down by a 1.6% decline in power spending and a 2.7% drop in manufacturing spending.
- The decrease in public construction spending was paced by a 0.3% drop in nonresidential spending. That downtick was led by a 1.9% decline in educational spending and a 1.9% decline in transportation spending.
Big Picture
- The key takeaway from the report is the ongoing strength in private residential construction spending, which is a byproduct of strong demand driven by a scarce supply of existing homes for sale.
| Category | MAY | APR | MAR | FEB | JAN |
| Nominal (Current) Dollars | |||||
| Total Construction | -0.3% | 0.1% | 1.0% | -1.1% | 3.0% |
| Private | -0.3% | 0.3% | 1.4% | -0.6% | 4.2% |
| Residential | 0.2% | 0.7% | 2.2% | -0.3% | 3.7% |
| Nonresidential | -1.1% | -0.5% | 0.1% | -1.1% | 4.8% |
| Public | -0.2% | -0.6% | -0.2% | -2.7% | -0.6% |
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