"Construction spending rebounded in June after a tiny drop in May and a small increase in April," said Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). Simonson was commenting on an Aug. 1 report from the Census Bureau that showed the value of construction put in place rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.3 percent in June, following a drop of less than 0.1 percent in May, and a gain of 0.2 percent in April.
"In all three months, private residential construction dropped sharply, while private nonresidential and public construction spending increased," Simonson observed. "In June, these categories rose 2.7 and 0.8 percent respectively. I expect those trends to continue: falling residential spending, very strong private nonresidential, and somewhat positive public spending."