WASHINGTON - "I must point out there was lots of good news hidden" in the "seemingly gloomy construction spending report" from the U.S. Census Bureau, said Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). Simonson was commenting on the January report that showed the value of construction put in place in November totaled $1.184 trillion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, down 0.2 percent from the upwardly revised October total.
"Nonresidential spending showed a strong 1.2 percent gain in November, even after the October figure was revised from a small loss to a 1.1 percent gain," Simonson observed. "Meanwhile, residential construction spending shrank again in October by 1.6 percent, bringing the cumulative decline to 11 percent since peaking last March.