National nonresidential construction spending was down 0.8% in March, 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 $839.2 billion for the month.
Spending was down on a monthly basis in 11 of 16 nonresidential subcategories. Private nonresidential spending was down 1.2%, while public nonresidential construction spending was down 0.3% in March. On a year-over-year basis, nonresidential construction spending is up 5.6%, led by 31.9% growth in construction related to manufacturing.
“March’s construction spending numbers aren’t adjusted for inflation and are actually worse than they look,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “While overall construction spending rose 0.1% in March, largely because of the strength in multifamily residential construction, construction spending was down in real terms. Nonresidential construction performance declined because of weakness in segments like commercial (-1.9%) and amusement/recreation (-2.1%).
“Even though nonresidential construction spending levels are significantly short of what they were pre-pandemic, many contractors indicate that they are operating at capacity, according to ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator,” said Basu. “This speaks to how challenging the economic environment is becoming, with contractors wrestling with workforce skills shortages and sky-high materials prices. The elevated cost of construction service delivery helps explain why more projects are not moving forward as project owners are forced to wait.
“Circumstances could become easier or more challenging for contractors during the months ahead,” said Basu. “The Federal Reserve’s stepped-up efforts to combat inflation will eventually translate into better pricing for key construction inputs. However, those same efforts will soften the economy. Many economists believe that a recession in America over the next 12 to 18 months has become virtually inevitable. Thus, even as delivering construction services becomes more affordable, demand for construction services, particularly private construction, may begin to fade.”
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Bronze Award: Alumni Gymnasium Renovation, Dartmouth College Hanover, N.H.
At a time when institutions of higher learning are spending tens of millions of dollars erecting massive, cutting-edge recreation and fitness centers, Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., decided to take a more modest, historical approach. Instead of building an ultra-grand new facility, the university chose to breathe new life into its landmark Alumni Gymnasium by transforming the outdated 99-y...
| Aug 11, 2010
Great Solutions: Collaboration
9. HOK Takes Videoconferencing to A New Level with its Advanced Collaboration Rooms To help foster collaboration among its 2,212 employees while cutting travel time, expenses, and carbon emissions traveling between its 24 office locations, HOK is fitting out its major offices with prototype videoconferencing rooms that are like no other in the U.
| Aug 11, 2010
Gold Award: Westin Book Cadillac Hotel & Condominiums Detroit, Mich.
“From eyesore to icon.” That's how Reconstruction Awards judge K. Nam Shiu so concisely described the restoration effort that turned the decimated Book Cadillac Hotel into a modern hotel and condo development. The tallest hotel in the world when it opened in 1924, the 32-story Renaissance Revival structure was revered as a jewel in the then-bustling Motor City.
| Aug 11, 2010
2009 Judging Panel
A Matthew H. Johnson, PE Associate Principal Simpson Gumpertz & HegerWaltham, Mass. B K. Nam Shiu, SE, PEVP Walker Restoration Consultants Elgin, Ill. C David P. Callan, PE, CEM, LEED APSVPEnvironmental Systems DesignChicago D Ken Osmun, PA, DBIA, LEED AP Group President, ConstructionWight & Company Darien, Ill.
| Aug 11, 2010
29 Great Solutions
1. Riverwalk Transforms Chicago's Second Waterfront Chicago has long enjoyed a beautiful waterfront along Lake Michigan, but the Windy City's second waterfront along the Chicago River was often ignored and mostly neglected. Thanks to a $22 million rehab by local architect Carol Ross Barney and her associate John Fried, a 1.
| Aug 11, 2010
High-Performance Modular Classrooms Hit the Market
Over a five-day stretch last December, students at the Carroll School in Lincoln, Mass., witnessed the installation of a modular classroom building like no other. The new 950-sf structure, which will serve as the school's tutoring offices for the next few years, is loaded with sustainable features like sun-tunnel skylights, doubled-insulated low-e glazing, a cool roof, light shelves, bamboo tri...
| Aug 11, 2010
Inspiring Offices: Office Design That Drives Creativity
Office design has always been linked to productivity—how many workers can be reasonably squeezed into a given space—but why isn’t it more frequently linked to creativity? “In general, I don’t think enough people link the design of space to business outcome,” says Janice Linster, partner with the Minneapolis design firm Studio Hive.
| Aug 11, 2010
Special Recognition: Pioneering Efforts Continue Trade School Legacy
Worcester, Mass., is the birthplace of vocational education, beginning with the pioneering efforts of Milton P. Higgins, who opened the Worcester Trade School in 1908. The school's original facility served this central Massachusetts community for nearly 100 years until its state-of-the-art replacement opened in 2006 as the 1,500-student Worchester Technical High School.
| Aug 11, 2010
Silver Award: Palmer House Hilton Hotel & Shops Chicago, Ill.
Chicago's Palmer House Hilton holds the record for the longest continuously operated hotel in North America. It was originally built in 1871 by Potter Palmer, one of America's first millionaire developers. When it was rebuilt after the Great Chicago Fire it became the first hotel in the U.S. to put a telephone in every room.
| Aug 11, 2010
BIM school, green school: California's newest high-performance school
Nestled deep in the Napa Valley, the city of American Canyon is one of a number of new communities in Northern California that have experienced tremendous growth in the last five years. Located 42 miles northeast of San Francisco, American Canyon had a population of just over 9,000 in 2000; by 2008, that figure stood at 15,276, with 28% of the population under age 18.
