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Construction spending edged down in November on a month-to-month basis but remained on a positive track compared to 2013, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America. Construction spending in November totaled $975 billion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, down 0.3 percent from the October total but 2.4 percent higher than in November.
“[November’s] figures continue the seesaw pattern that has characterized residential, private nonresidential and public construction throughout 2014,” says Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Overall construction spending dipped in November from an upwardly revised October total as residential building advanced but private and public nonresidential spending both retreated.”
Private nonresidential spending dropped 0.3 percent for the month but rose 4.7 percent year-over-year, while private residential spending in November climbed 0.9 percent from October but slipped 0.5 percent from a year earlier. Public construction spending, meanwhile, dipped 1.7 percent from October but was 3.2 percent higher than in November 2013.
Total spending year-to-date was 5.7 percent above the January-November 2013 total, Simonson adds. Private residential spending rose 4.9 percent, while private nonresidential construction increased 10.8 percent.
