![The value of all U.S. construction put in place was unchanged in September at a record high.](https://img.forconstructionpros.com/files/base/acbm/fcp/image/2018/11/September_2018_US_Construction_Spend_history.5bdb466d22aa2.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=288&q=70&rect=37%2C43%2C1216%2C684&w=512)
The value of all U.S. construction put in place was unchanged in September at a record high as a slight gain in private construction projects offset the biggest drop in public outlays in 12 months.
Total U.S. construction spending year-to-date remains 5.5% above the first nine months of 2017.
Spending on private new single-family homes fell 0.8% in September, marking the largest construction segment’s fourth consecutive drop. But single-family outlays year-to-date remain 7.3% above the same period of 2017. Spending on private new single-family homes fell 0.8% in September, marking the largest construction segment’s fourth consecutive drop.
The September figures demonstrate the notorious volatility of the Department of Commerce’s monthly estimates. Six of the ten largest nonresidential segments – power, highway and street, commercial, office, transportation and amusement – dropped for the month, despite all showing strong growth since the first of the year. Manufacturing, which is down 3.7% since January, managed a 0.8% rise.
Strong monthly spending in the huge educational segment and in health care and lodging construction kept September from slipping overall.
Public construction spending’s 0.9% slip was due to contrasting dynamics, as well. A 1.2% jump in solid public education construction couldn’t match a 1.1% drop in the huge highway and street segment, 0.9% slide in transportation spending and drifting water supply construction. Flagging September numbers in those three segments stands in contrast to their very strong year-to-date performance.
The September construction-spending report details offer another Easter egg: August construction spending was revised up from essentially flat to +0.8%.
“The upward revision to August data could have an impact on the government’s third-quarter gross domestic product estimate published last Friday,” according to Reuters’ coverage of this month’s Commerce Department report. “The government estimated the economy grew at a 3.5 percent annualized rate in the July-September period.” A 0.3% in the value of private construction projects in September offset the biggest drop in public outlays (0.9%) in 12 months.