Construction Spending Increased 0.2% in April

by Calculated Risk on 6/01/2022 11:34:00 AM

From the Census Bureau reported that overall construction spending increased:

Construction spending during April 2022 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,744.8 billion, 0.2 percent above the revised March estimate of $1,740.6 billion. The April figure is
12.3 percent above the April 2021 estimate of $1,553.5 billion.
emphasis added

Private spending increased and public spending decreased:

Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,394.7 billion, 0.5 percent above the revised March estimate of $1,387.9 billion. …

In April, the estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction spending was $350.1 billion, 0.7 percent below the revised March estimate of $352.7 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 (red) spending is 31% above the bubble peak (in nominal terms – not adjusted for inflation).

Non-residential (blue) spending is 21% above the bubble era peak in January 2008 (nominal dollars).

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 18.4%. Non-residential spending is up 10.1% year-over-year. Public spending is up 1.8% year-over-year.

This was below consensus expectations of a 0.5% increase in spending; however, construction spending for the previous two months was revised up slightly.