by Calculated Risk on 12/01/2021 10:18:00 AM
From the Census Bureau reported that overall construction spending increased 0.2%:
emphasis added
Private spending decreased and public spending increased:
In October, the estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction spending was $353.0 billion, 1.8 percent above the revised September estimate of $346.8 billion.
Click on graph for larger image.
This graph shows private residential and nonresidential construction spending, and public spending, since 1993. Note: nominal dollars, not inflation adjusted.
Residential spending is 14% above the bubble peak (in nominal terms – not adjusted for inflation).
Non-residential spending is 13% above the bubble era peak in January 2008 (nominal dollars), but has been soft recently.
Public construction spending is 8% above the peak in March 2009.
The second graph shows the year-over-year change in construction spending.
On a year-over-year basis, private residential construction spending is up 16.7%. Non-residential spending is up 3.1% year-over-year. Public spending is up 0.4% year-over-year.
Construction was considered an essential service during the early months of the pandemic in most areas, and did not decline sharply like many other sectors. However, some sectors of non-residential have been under pressure. For example, lodging is down 32.4% YoY.
