HORIZONTV FEATURING BD+C: WATCH EPISODES ON DEMAND AT HORIZONTV

𝕏

Currently Reading

Nonresidential construction spending falters in November

Market Data

Nonresidential construction spending falters in November

Only 4 of 16 subsectors showed gains

By John Caulfield, Senior Editor | January 5, 2016

The latter months of 2015 showed signs that construction spending's momentum had leveled off. Courtesy of Pixabay

Continue Reading

Spending for nonresidential construction, which had been on the uptick for most of 2015, stumbled in the latter months.

The Census Bureau revised downward its spending estimates for September and October, and reported that spending in November stood at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of $688.1 billion, down 0.8% from the lower October figure.

Even though it was still up from November 2014's annualized rate of around $625 billion, November 2015 was the industry's worst-performing month since April 2015.

Anirban Basu, chief economist for Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), called Census's latest data “ominous,” because it showed that spending momentum “has softened considerably in recent months.” He added that ABC's surveys of construction executives paint a more dire picture of the industry's state.

“The most recent data suggest that while 2016 may be a year of nonresidential construction spending growth, it may not provide the degree of momentum that characterized much of 2015,” Basu said. He pointed specifically to construction related to the manufacturing sector, which in November was off 28.8% from November 2014. He believes this downturn reflects falling exports and stiffer competition from foreign producers.

ABC's analysis of Census's data found that only four of 16 construction subsectors showed positive gains in November: Communication, which was up 4.4% over October and 27.8% over November 2014; Education (up 3.9% and 13.8%), Office (1.6% and 20.5%), and Transportation (0.2% and 3.1%).

Conversely, spending for Public Safety projects fell 8.1% on a monthly basis, and 5.2% year over year. Even Healthcare, which had been the industry's shining light recently (it was up 5% from November 2014), slipped by 0.1% from October 2015.

Tags

Related Stories

Industry Research | Nov 30, 2016

Multifamily millennials: Here is what millennial renters want in 2017

It’s all about technology and convenience when it comes to the things millennial renters value most in a multifamily facility.

Market Data | Nov 29, 2016

It’s not just traditional infrastructure that requires investment

A national survey finds strong support for essential community buildings.

Industry Research | Nov 28, 2016

Building America: The Merit Shop Scorecard

ABC releases state rankings on policies affecting construction industry.

Multifamily Housing | Nov 28, 2016

Axiometrics predicts apartment deliveries will peak by mid 2017

New York is projected to lead the nation next year, thanks to construction delays in 2016

Market Data | Nov 22, 2016

Construction activity will slow next year: JLL

Risk, labor, and technology are impacting what gets built.

Market Data | Nov 17, 2016

Architecture Billings Index rebounds after two down months

Decline in new design contracts suggests volatility in design activity to persist.

Market Data | Nov 11, 2016

Brand marketing: Why the B2B world needs to embrace consumers

The relevance of brand recognition has always been debatable in the B2B universe. With notable exceptions like BASF, few manufacturers or industry groups see value in generating top-of-mind awareness for their products and services with consumers.

Industry Research | Nov 8, 2016

Austin, Texas wins ‘Top City’ in the Emerging Trends in Real Estate outlook

Austin was followed on the list by Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas and Portland, Ore.

Market Data | Nov 2, 2016

Nonresidential construction spending down in September, but August data upwardly revised

The government revised the August nonresidential construction spending estimate from $686.6 billion to $696.6 billion.

Market Data | Oct 31, 2016

Nonresidential fixed investment expands again during solid third quarter

The acceleration in real GDP growth was driven by a combination of factors, including an upturn in exports, a smaller decrease in state and local government spending and an upturn in federal government spending, says ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu.

Top Articles

MFPRO+ News

Special multifamily report indicates ‘two supply scenarios’

University Buildings

UNC Chapel Hill’s new medical education building offers seminar rooms and midsize classrooms—and notably, no lecture halls

Codes and Standards

California law that ended single-family zoning is struck down by court

More In Category

Healthcare Facilities

Hospital construction costs for 2024

Data from Gordian breaks down the average cost per square foot for a three-story hospital across 10 U.S. cities.

Contractors

Nonresidential construction spending rises 0.2% in March 2024 to $1.19 trillion

National nonresidential construction spending increased 0.2% in March, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.19 trillion.

AEC Tech

Lack of organizational readiness is biggest hurdle to artificial intelligence adoption

Managers of companies in the industrial sector, including construction, have bought the hype of artificial intelligence (AI) as a transformative technology, but their organizations are not ready to realize its promise, according to research from IFS, a global cloud enterprise software company. An IFS survey of 1,700 senior decision-makers found that 84% of executives anticipate massive organizational benefits from AI.

Hotel Facilities

The U.S. hotel construction market sees record highs in the first quarter of 2024

As seen in the Q1 2024 U.S. Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics (LE), at the end of the first quarter, there are 6,065 projects with 702,990 rooms in the pipeline. This new all-time high represents a 9% year-over-year (YOY) increase in projects and a 7% YOY increase in rooms compared to last year.

Most Popular Content