Construction Spending Slips in November but Gains 7.7% YoY

“Preliminary data from the Census Bureau for November shows overall construction spending slipped 0.3 percent from October’s total after seven months of steady gains,” said Ken Simonson, chief economist at the Associated General Contractors of America. “The more significant comparison, however, is with year-ago levels, and the November report shows a respectable 7.7 percent gain over the past 12 months.”

The seasonally adjusted annual rate for private construction was $589.8 billion, 0.2 percent below the revised October estimate of $590.8 billion, but up 13.3 percent from November 2011. Private residential construction in November rose 0.4 percent to an adjusted annual rate of $295.3 billion from the revised October estimate of $294.2 billion and was up 19 percent from November 2011.

Private nonresidential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $294.4 billion in November, down 0.7 percent from the revised October estimate of $296.5 billion. Four categories of private nonresidential construction showed gains of more than 10 percent year-over-year from November 2011. Lodging construction grew 25.9 percent year-over-year and office construction grew 16.5 percent. Private transportation companies, primarily rail and trucking, grew 16.2 percent year-over-year and power and energy construction, including spending on oil and gas fields and pipelines, rose 13.6 percent. Overall, private nonresidential construction was up 8.2 percent from the November 2011 estimate of $272.2 billion.