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National nonresidential construction spending fell 0.3% in September but remains historically elevated, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. Total nonresidential spending stood at $767.1 billion on a seasonally adjusted, annualized rate in September, an increase of 8.9% on a year-ago basis.
Associated Builders and Contractors
“Virtually no weight should be placed upon the monthly decline in nonresidential construction spending that occurred in September,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Rather, we should focus on the massive upward revision to August’s spending data. That revision finally aligns construction spending data with statistics on backlog, employment and other indicators of robust nonresidential construction spending. On a year-over-year basis, nonresidential construction is up nearly 9 percent, an impressive performance by any standard.
“Unlike previous instances of rapid construction growth, this one is led by a neatly balanced combination of private and public spending growth,” said Basu. “Among the leading sources of spending growth over the past year are water supply, transportation, lodging and office construction. This is not only consistent with an economy that continues to perform splendidly along multiple dimensions, but also with significantly improved state and local government finances, which has helped to support greater levels of infrastructure spending.
Associated Builders and Contractors