Construction Spending Falls 2.5% – Residential, Public Sector See large Declines

New construction spending fell sharply in December, dropping 2.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis. This was the second monthly decline following a brief period of growth. The month’s decline was broad based amongst types of construction. Residential spending lead the fall, declining 4.1% over the month. Non-residential spending fell 0.5% and public sector spending fell 2.8%. It is possible that the large declines were in part due to inclement weather in the Northeast over the month; however, this was not likely the main factor.

On a year-ago basis, total construction spending was 6.4% lower. Private residential spending was down 6.8%, and private non-residential spending was down 12.3%. Public sector spending was down 0.3% from a year earlier.

m/m % change	Dec	Nov	Oct	Sep	Aug	Jul
Total	-2.5	-0.2	1.1	1.2	-0.9	-2.6
Private Residential	-4.1	0.7	4.0	1.2	-6.2	-4.1
Private Non Res.	-0.5	0.7	0.7	2.0	0.4	-4.0
Public	-2.8	-1.7	-0.7	0.6	2.1	-0.2