Construction Spending maintains new $1 trillion Plus Pace

Construction spending in the public and private sectorsrnincreased slightly in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,035.8rnbillion.  The figure was up 0.8 percentrnfrom the April number which was, however substantially revised from $1,006.1rnbillion to $1,027.0 billion.</p

The Census Bureau estimate of May spending, which includesrnconstruction put in place in residential and 16 other categories such asrnlodging, education, and health care, was 8.2 percent higher than expendituresrnof $957.6 billion in May 2014.  Duringrnthe first five months of 2015 spending has totaled $382.1 billion, a 5.9rnpercent increase over the year-to-date figure a year earlier.</p

Total residential spending – the bulk of which is in thernprivate sector – was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $366.1 billion inrnMay, up 0.8 percent from April’s revised (from $359.4 billion) estimate ofrn$365.0 billion and 8.2 percent higher than a year earlier.</p

Total spending on construction in the private sector was atrna seasonally adjusted annual rate of $752.4 billion, a 0.9 percent increasernfrom April’s estimate of $745.6 billion and 10.3 percent higher than in Mayrn2014.   Private residential spending was estimated atrna rate of 359.5 billion compared to $353.5 billion in April, a +0.3 percentrnchange.  Spending was 7.8 percent abovernthe level of a year earlier.</p

New single-family construction spending was estimated at arnrate of $209.4 billion, unchanged from the previous month but representing anrn11.2 percent increase year-over-year. rnNew multi-family construction increased by 0.2 percent from April torn$48.8 billion, 20.8 percent higher than in May 2014.</p

Year-to-date private sector spending through the end of Mayrnwas 6.9 percent higher than during the same period in 2014 at $283.4rnbillion.  Residential spending during thernfive month period rose 6.1 percent while new single family construction was uprn13.4 percent and multi-family construction increased by 25.0 percent.</p

Total spending in the public sector was estimated at anrnannual rate of $283.4 billion, a positive 0.7 percent change from the Aprilrnestimate of $281.5 billion and 2.8 percent higher than a year earlier.  Residential Construction, while only at arnrate of $6.6 billion was 39.4 percent higher than in May 2014 and year-to-daternpublic sector residential spending is running 30.5 percent higher than lastrnyear.

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