–Private New Residential Building Down, Remodeling Up
–Nonresidential Construction Rose 1.8%, Most Categories Up
By Kevin Kastner
WASHINGTON (MNI) – Spending on construction rose 1.4% in March,
well above expectations, with private residential building, private
nonresidential building, and public construction all adding to the gain,
data released by the Commerce Department Monday morning showed.
However, construction spending was still down from a year earlier
and the details of the March data indicate some signs of continued
weakness, particularly for new home building.
Private residential construction rose 2.6% in March, but
single-family construction fell 1.0% and multi-family building was down
2.2%. As a result, total new home construction was down 1.1% in March.
Home remodeling activity surged 6.9% in the month after a 12.9%
decline in February, a Market News International calculation shows. All
residential building measures were down sharply from a year ago.
Private nonresidential construction rose 1.8% in March on gains in
most of the categories. However, construction spending declined in
commercial, communications, transportation, and amusement sectors.
Public construction rose 0.1% in the month, with federal
construction spending down 2.0%, but state and local construction up
0.3%.
Analysts in a Market News International survey had expected
construction spending to rise 0.5% in March, with forecasts ranging from
0.5% decline to a 1.0% rise.
** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **
[TOPICS: MAUDS$,MT$$$$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]
