Construction Spending Rises on Revisions
ThinkstockThe U.S. Census Bureau reported this morning that construction spending in February rose by 1.2% to an estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of $885.1 billion from a downwardly revised estimate of $874.8 billion in January. Compared with February 2012, spending…
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported this morning that construction spending in February rose by 1.2% to an estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of $885.1 billion from a downwardly revised estimate of $874.8 billion in January. Compared with February 2012, spending is up 7.9%. For all of 2012, construction spending rose 9.9% year-over-year.
Spending on private residential construction rose 2.2% to $303.4 billion, compared with the revised January total of $296.9 billion. Private nonresidential construction rose 0.4% month-over-month, and total private spending rose 1.3% to $613 billion.
In the private sector, single-family residential construction is 34.1% higher than it was a year ago and multifamily construction is up 51.8% from January 2012. Private commercial construction is up 7.3% year-over-year.
In the public sector, total spending is down 1.5% year-over-year, continuing a slide begun in September 2012. Spending on educational facilities fell 0.3% month-over-month and 8.4% from January 2012 spending. Public residential construction fell 4.9% month-over-month and is 11.7% lower year-over-year.
The primary reason for the increase in private construction in February was the downward revision in the January estimate. The February total of $885.1 billion is almost flat with the original January estimate of $883.3 billion. Multifamily residential construction is down month-over-month even though it remains substantially higher than it was a year ago.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.
He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.
