Construction Spending Mostly Steady in May

Jul 07, 2017

Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes remained unchanged in March at 62, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI)

Total construction spending during May was estimated at a seasonally adjusted rate of $1.23 billion, nearly the same as the April rate by 4.5 percent above the $1.17 billion rate from May 2016, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. During the first five months of this year, construction spending amounted to $469.2 billion, which is 6.1 percent above the $442.4 billion for the same period in 2016.

Private construction spending in May was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $943.2 billion, 0.6 percent below the revised April estimate of $949.3 billion. Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $509.6 billion in May, which was 0.6 percent lower than the revised April estimate of $512.7 billion. Nonresidential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $433.6 billion in May, 0.7 percent below the revised April estimate of $436.7 billion.

In May, the estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction spending was $286.9 billion, 2.1 percent above the revised April estimate of $281 billion.

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Phil Hall

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Jul 07, 2017

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