by Calculated Risk on 6/01/2012 01:50:00 PM
Friday, June 01, 2012
Construction Spending in April: Private spending increases, Public Spending declines
Catching up ... This morning the Census Bureau reported that overall construction spending increased in April:
The U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced today that construction spending during April 2012 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $820.7 billion, 0.3 percent above the revised March estimate of $818.1 billion. The April figure is 6.8 percent above the April 2011 estimate of $768.2 billion.Private construction spending increased while public spending decreased:
Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $549.7 billion, 1.2 percent above the revised March estimate of $543.4 billion. ... In April, the estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction spending was $271.0 billion, 1.4 percent below the revised March estimate of $274.7 billion..
![Private Construction Spending](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGyVCCssUZzoBFm8f8zsaOu3wtiJY2HBhgMykfDFzeTB90TQL2yB-48GYcyPDHOYUYOPmsCwbDOfR38-RoECXmXxxnklaAhMs-JurZgb5acpPWhiAOO4mQ9-3nUhs0NPJ9fmu9/s320/ConstSpendApr2012.jpg)
This graph shows private residential and nonresidential construction spending, and public spending, since 1993. Note: nominal dollars, not inflation adjusted.
Private residential spending is 62% below the peak in early 2006, and up 14% from the recent low. Non-residential spending is 29% below the peak in January 2008, and up about 20% from the recent low.
Public construction spending is now 17% below the peak in March 2009 and at a new post-bubble low.
![Private Construction Spending](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqlqCoyLMpT5zUrkiwidsr0LcTOSu6GFZGeIN5omuuf1tV8m0fKDGBFUleC78kKVarVfkWBmIeXZ0Aruk7w9V_KAXvGIH_mwfGMNpqKB2ZQQ-2PQVcq0_C3hT63DXvfnJg2OB0/s320/ConstSpendYoYApr2012.jpg)
On a year-over-year basis, both private residential and non-residential construction spending are positive, but public spending is down on a year-over-year basis. The year-over-year improvements in private non-residential is mostly related to energy spending (power and electric).
The year-over-year improvement in private residential investment is an important change (the positive in 2010 was related to the tax credit).