Construction Spending Unexpectedly Declined in October

Construction spending was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,308.8 billion for October, a 0.1% (±1.5%)* decline. That’s still 4.9% (±1.6%) above the October 2017 estimate of $1,247.5 billion.

During the first ten months of this year, construction spending amounted to $1,096.4 billion, or 5.1% (±1.2%) higher than the $1,043.6 billion for the same period in 2017.

Private Construction

Spending on private construction was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $998.7 billion, a 0.4% (±0.8%)* decline from the revised September estimate of $1,003.0 billion.

Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $539.0 billion in October, or 0.5% (±1.3%)* below the revised September estimate of $541.7 billion.

Nonresidential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $459.7 billion in October, 0.3% (±0.8%)* below the revised September estimate of $461.3 billion.

Public Construction

The estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction spending was $310.2 billion in October, still 0.8% (±2.6%)* above the revised September estimate of $307.8 billion.

Educational construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $76.9 billion, or 2.6% (±2.3%)* higher than the revised September estimate of $75.0 billion.

Highway construction came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $94.6 billion, a marginal 0.1% (±6.9%)* decline from the revised September estimate of $94.6 billion.

* The 90 percent confidence interval includes zero. There is insufficient evidence to conclude that the actual change is different from zero.