September Nonresidential Construction Spending Up by 0.1%, Fueled by Infrastructure Investment

WASHINGTON, DC — National nonresidential construction spending increased 0.1% in September, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the US Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.22 trillion.

Spending was up on a monthly basis in half of the 16 nonresidential subcategories. Private nonresidential spending decreased 0.1%, while public nonresidential construction spending was up 0.4% in September.

“Construction spending inched higher in September, with growth fueled by ongoing infrastructure investment,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Spending accelerated in several publicly funded segments in September, including highway and street, sewage and waste disposal and water supply. The privately funded nonresidential construction segment didn’t perform as well for the month, with spending in that segment contracting for the second time in the past three months.

“Despite September’s decline, private nonresidential construction spending remains less than 1% below the all-time high established in June,” said Basu. “Given ongoing manufacturing megaprojects and healthy backlog levels, according to ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator, the nonresidential segment should hold up well as the industry waits for lower borrowing costs and looser lending standards to arrive.”

Visit abc.org/economics for the Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index, plus analysis of spending, employment, job openings and the Producer Price Index.