Construction Spending Decreased 0.5% in March

From the Census Bureau reported that overall construction spending decreased:

Construction spending during March 2025 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,196.1 billion, 0.5 percent below the revised February estimate of $2,206.9 billion. The March figure is 2.8 percent above the March 2024 estimate of $2,135.8 billion.
emphasis added

Both private and public spending increased:

Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,688.0 billion, 0.6 percent below the revised February estimate of $1,697.7 billion. ...

In March, the estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction spending was $508.1 billion, 0.2 percent below the revised February estimate of $509.2 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.

Private residential (red) spending is 4.4% below the peak in 2022.

Private non-residential (blue) spending is 0.8% below the peak in February 2025.

Public construction spending (orange) is slightly 0.2% the peak the previous month.

The second graph shows the year-over-year change in construction spending.

On a year-over-year basis, private residential construction spending is up 2.8%. Private non-residential spending is up 1.6% year-over-year. Public spending is up 4.7% year-over-year.

This was below consensus expectations; however, spending for the previous two months was revised up.