flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Construction spending hits four-year peak after rare spike in public outlays

Construction spending hits four-year peak after rare spike in public outlays

Totals for the first 10 months of 2013 show a jump in residential construction, flat nonresidential work, and a drop in public categories.


By AGC | December 3, 2013

An unusual surge in public construction in October pushed total construction spending to its highest level since May 2009 despite a dip in both private residential and nonresidential activity, according to an analysis of new Census Bureau data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials urged lawmakers in Washington to make water and surface transportation investment a top federal priority.

“Nearly every category of public construction increased in October, according to the preliminary Census figures, although for the first 10 months of 2013 combined, public spending continues to lag the 2012 year-to-date total,” said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. “Meanwhile, residential spending slipped for the month but still showed strong year-to-date gains, and nonresidential spending remained stuck in neutral.”

Construction put in place in October totaled $908 billion, 0.8 percent higher than in September. But figures for August and July were revised down below levels that initially exceeded the current October estimate. The total for the first 10 months of 2013 was 5.0 percent above the year-to-date mark for the same months in 2012.

Public construction spending jumped 3.9 percent for the month but trailed the 2012 year-to-date total by 2.8 percent. The two largest public components were mixed: highway and street construction increased 0.6 percent in October and 0.3 percent year-to-date, while educational construction leaped 8.5 percent for the month but fell 8.5 percent year-to-date, Simonson said.

Private residential spending slid 0.6 percent for the month but still climbed 17 percent year-to-date. New single-family construction decreased 0.6 percent in October but soared 30 percent in the first 10 months of 2013 compared with 2012. New multifamily spending advanced 2.2 percent in October and 46 percent year-to-date.

Private nonresidential spending edged down 0.5 percent for the month and up 0.8 percent year-to-date, Simonson observed. The largest private nonresidential category, power—including oil and gas as well as electricity—plunged 5.7 percent and 5.8 percent over the two time periods. But the next three niches in size—manufacturing, commercial (retail, warehouse and farm), and office—rose for the month and year-to-date.

“Construction will likely display varied patterns in the next several months,” Simonson said. “Multifamily construction will keep burgeoning but single-family homebuilding may stall. Private nonresidential spending should benefit from more power, energy and manufacturing work. Public construction remains threatened.”

Association officials said Congress and the administration should keep public construction from returning to its recent slump by quickly completing Water Resources Development legislation that has already passed both houses and passing a new surface transportation bill next year that funds repairs to deteriorating highway, bridge and transit infrastructure.  They added that any new transportation bill must include provisions to adequately fund the nearly depleted federal Highway Trust Fund.

“If Congress can act in a bipartisan way on transportation funding as it did on the Water Resources bill, it can avoid a cliff-like drop in highway spending,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer.

Related Stories

| Jul 27, 2014

Top Data Center Engineering Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]

Fluor, Jacobs, and Syska Hennessy top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest data center engineering and engineering/architecture firms in the U.S.

| Jul 27, 2014

Top Data Center Architecture Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]

Gensler, Corgan, and HDR head Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest data center architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.

| Jul 25, 2014

Grocery stores choosing Green Globes for building sustainability certification

The Green Building Initiative (GBI) has announced a wave of Green Globes certifications for new grocery stores, including New Seasons Markets, Whole Foods, Price Chopper, Aldi’s, Harris Teeter, Wegmans, and Publix.

| Jul 24, 2014

SLATERPAULL Architects to merge with Hord Coplan Macht

The merger will create a full-service practice with offices in Baltimore, MD, Denver, CO and Alexandria, VA that offers integrated architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, planning and historic preservation services.

| Jul 24, 2014

MIT researchers explore how to make wood composite-like blocks of bamboo

The concept behind the research is to slice the stalk of bamboo grass into smaller pieces to bond together and form sturdy blocks, much like conventional wood composites.

| Jul 24, 2014

Glazing options in correctional and detention facilities

Like it or not, the number of incarcerated people in the U.S. continues to rise. With that, increased security in all aspects of these facilities continues to be a priority. This is where security glazing products that allow line of sight for supervisors to observe and still maintain secure separation can play a key role. SPONSORED CONTENT  

| Jul 23, 2014

Holistic care model, regulatory changes make outpatient facilities a high priority [2014 Giants 300 Report]

With the Affordable Care Act still in its infancy, Building Teams are seeing reverberations in the investment decisions of healthcare providers, including new ideas about the types of buildings they are asked to create.

| Jul 23, 2014

Meet Acquario Ceará: The giant crustacean-shaped aquarium that's causing concerns

A new aquarium on Brazil's northeastern coast is designed, engineered, constructed and financed by U.S. firms and institutions.

| Jul 23, 2014

Top Healthcare Sector Construction Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]

Turner, McCarthy, and Skanska USA top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest healthcare contractors and construction management firms in the U.S.

| Jul 23, 2014

Top Healthcare Sector Engineering Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]

AECOM, Jacobs, and URS Corp. top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest healthcare engineering and engineering/architecture firms in the U.S.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Great Solutions

41 Great Solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors

AI ChatBots, ambient computing, floating MRIs, low-carbon cement, sunshine on demand, next-generation top-down construction. These and 35 other innovations make up our 2024 Great Solutions Report, which highlights fresh ideas and innovations from leading architecture, engineering, and construction firms.




halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021