National nonresidential construction spending increased 0.8% in July, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $847.6 billion for the month.
Spending was up on a monthly basis in 13 of the 16 nonresidential subcategories. Private nonresidential spending was up 0.4%, while public nonresidential construction spending was up 1.5% in July.
“The nonresidential sector continues to grapple with rising borrowing costs, elevated materials and labor costs and pervasive economic pessimism,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Despite a modest increase in July, nonresidential construction spending remains below its pre-pandemic level. There is, however, at least one bright spot for the industry: publicly financed construction. State and local governments are flush with cash, and considerable funding is slated for various forms of infrastructure. In July, spending in the highway and street category increased 4.4%, while spending in the public safety category rose 2.3%.
“For privately financed construction, circumstances could get worse before they get better,” said Basu. “The Federal Reserve recently recommitted to further tightening monetary policy. Market sentiment quickly turned negative. Rather than disappear, supply chain challenges are proliferating in much of the world, including in Europe and China, and the risk of recession is elevated. This is simply not a set of circumstances conducive to rapid nonresidential construction spending growth, and according to the most recent Construction Confidence Index, just 31% of contractors expect their profit margins to grow over the next six months.”
![Spending Table](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Spending_Table_9.1.22.jpeg)
![Spending Graph](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Spending_Graph_9.1.22.jpg)
Related Stories
| Dec 27, 2011
Ground broken for adaptive reuse project
Located on the Garden State Parkway, the master-planned project initially includes the conversion of a 114-year-old, 365,000-square-foot, six-story warehouse building into 361 loft-style apartments, and the creation of a three-level parking facility.
| Dec 27, 2011
Nova completes $60M Clearwater Conference Center
Comprising an entire city block, the 450,000 sq. ft. facility features over 400 meeting rooms, six theaters, a full-service health spa, complete with an indoor running track, and a commercial kitchen that can efficiently accommodate over 1,000 diners
| Dec 27, 2011
BD+C's Under 40 Leadership Summit update
The two-day Under 40 Leadership Summit continued with a Leadership Style interactive presentation; Great Solutions presentations from Under 40 attendees; the Owner’s Perspective panel discussion; and the Blue Ocean Strategy presentation.
| Dec 27, 2011
Suffolk Construction celebrates raising of Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum cupola
Topping off ceremony held on 238th Anniversary of Boston Tea Party.
| Dec 27, 2011
State of the data center 2011
Advances in technology, an increased reliance on the Internet and social media as well as an increased focus on energy management initiatives have had a significant impact on the data center world.
| Dec 27, 2011
USGBC’s Center for Green Schools releases Best of Green Schools 2011
Recipient schools and regions from across the nation - from K-12 to higher education - were recognized for a variety of sustainable, cost-cutting measures, including energy conservation, record numbers of LEED certified buildings and collaborative platforms and policies to green U.S. school infrastructure.
| Dec 21, 2011
DOE report details finance options for PV systems in schools
The report examines the two primary types of ownership models used to obtain PV installations for school administrators to use in selecting the best option for deploying solar technologies in their districts.
| Dec 21, 2011
AIA Chicago & AIA Chicago Foundation 2011 Dubin Family Young Architect Award announced
The Dubin Family Young Architect Award is bestowed annually and recognizes excellence in ability and exceptional contributions by a Chicago architect between the ages of 25 and 39.
| Dec 21, 2011
Few silver linings for construction in 2012
On the brighter side, nearly half of respondents (49.7%) said their firms were in at least “good” financial health, and four-fifths (80.2%) said their companies would at least hold steady in revenue in 2012.
| Dec 21, 2011
BBI key to Philly high-rise renovation
The 200,000 sf building was recently outfitted with a new HVAC system and a state-of-the-art window retrofitting system.