The nation’s nonresidential construction spending in June was down 1.6% from May, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data released today.
Despite the month-over decline, the spending total of $742.4 billion on a seasonally adjusted annual rate was a 4.2% increase over June 2017. Private nonresidential spending fell 0.3% in June, while public nonresidential spending fell by 3.5%.
“The hope is that June’s construction spending setback is merely a statistical aberration,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “That is certainly a possibility given the recent second quarter gross domestic product report, which among other things indicated extraordinarily rapid growth in the construction of structures.”
As spending contracted, ABC reports that construction material prices rose steadily through June, climbing 9.8% higher than June 2017, which Basu said is the likeliest cause for the decrease in spending.
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Was nation’s downward construction spending in June merely an ‘aberration?’
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