Construction spending fails to advance in September

$787.2 billion annual rate betters August by just 0.2 percent; YTD figures lag 2010 by 3.5 percent.

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The U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced today that construction spending during September 2011 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $787.2 billion, 0.2 percent (±1.8%)* above the revised August estimate of $786.0 billion.

The September figure is 1.3 percent (±1.9%)* below the September 2010 estimate of $797.3 billion.

During the first 9 months of this year, construction spending amounted to $580.9 billion, 3.5 percent (±1.3%) below the $602.0 billion for the same period in 2010.

PRIVATE CONSTRUCTION
Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $501.8 billion, 0.6 percent (±1.1%)* above the revised August estimate of $499.0 billion.

Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $228.3 billion in September, 0.9 percent (±1.3%)* above the revised August estimate of $226.3 billion.

Nonresidential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $273.5 billion in September, 0.3 percent (±1.1%)* above the revised August estimate of $272.8 billion.

PUBLIC CONSTRUCTION
In September, the estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction spending was $285.4 billion, 0.6 percent (±2.6%)* below the revised August estimate of $287.0 billion.

Educational construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $73.3 billion, 0.9 percent (±3.5%)* below the revised August estimate of $73.9 billion.

Highway construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $80.3 billion, 1.4 percent (±6.4%)* above the revised August estimate of $79.2 billion.

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