WASHINGTON — Construction spending was up 0.5% in August, with a 0.4% increase in private construction and a larger 0.7% increase in public construction, data released by the Commerce Department Monday morning showed.
Analysts had expected construction spending to rise 0.4% after a negative 0.6% reading for July. With the latest data, July construction was revised down to a 1.2% decrease, while June spending was revised up slightly to a more moderate 0.8% decrease from the 1.4% decline previously reported.
Private residential construction spending rose 0.4% in the month, with new home building rising 0.4% based on an MNI calculation. Single-family building rose 0.3%, while multi-family building saw a larger rise of 0.9% from the previous month. Residential construction excluding new homes, which captures remodeling was up 0.5% and up 15.8% year-over-year.
Private nonresidential construction was up 0.5% in August. There were increases in all categories, with the exception for a small decline of 0.5% in communication, and a larger 4.3% decline in manufacturing.
Public construction saw an increase of 0.7% in August, following a 3.3% drop in July. State and local government spending, the much larger portion of public construction, was up 1.1% after a 3.4% decrease in July, while Federal government construction saw a decline of 4.7% in August after a 2.8%% fall in July.
In a statement released by the Commerce Department Monday morning with the construction data, they clarified that Hurricane Harvey impacted construction activity in Texas only for the last week in August and Irma did not have an impact until September. The only data that will be captured in the estimates for single family residential construction will be from storm rebuilds, not repairs, and only if it is 100% rebuilt. Annual estimates of private nonresidential construction by state show that Florida and Texas together represented about 22% of spending in 2016.
