Construction sees spending rebound
February was a good month for construction as residential, private non-residential and infrastructure spending all saw gains, according to the Associated General Contractors of America.
Using an analysis of Census Bureau data, the AGC said February construction put in place was $885 billion, up 1.2 percent from a lower revised January figure. Year-over-year spending was up 7.9 percent. Private residential construction increased 2.2 percent for the month and 20 percent compared with February 2012. Private non-residential construction went up 0.04 percent for the month 6.1 percent year over year.
“It is encouraging to see growth in both monthly and year-over-year totals in private residential and nonresidential construction spending,” said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. “There are increasing signs that 2013 will be a good year for a wide variety of project types.”
Public construction spending increased 0.9 percent for the month but was down 1.5 percent for year-ago figures.
“There is little doubt that construction of new houses and apartments will continue to boom in the next several months, based on data covering recent housing starts and building permits, as well as reports of rising rents, occupancy rates and new-home sales in many markets,” Simonson added. “On the nonresidential side, there should be a lot of activity involving pipelines, manufacturing, railroads and trucking, and warehouses.”
Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!
