Construction Spending in United States

Measures the total value of construction work put in place in the United States during the month, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate. It covers public and private, residential and non-residential building. Published by the Census Bureau, it is one of the main gauges of US construction investment.

The Census Bureau estimates the value of work put in place each month from surveys of builders and owners, building permits and other administrative sources, valuing the share of each project completed. The data are seasonally adjusted and expressed at an annual rate (the monthly value scaled to an annualised pace).

Rising construction spending points to expanding investment in housing and infrastructure, supports sector employment and often anticipates GDP growth. A sustained fall signals weak fixed investment and can precede a slowdown. Markets pay particular attention to the residential component because of its sensitivity to mortgage rates.

The initial figure rests on estimates and is revised several times in the following months, often substantially. As a nominal value (not deflated), it does not cleanly separate construction-cost inflation from the real volume of work, and it is volatile month to month.