Construction spending in April was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,218.5 billion, a 1.4 percent decrease compared with the March rate of $1,235.5 billion but a 6.7 percent increase compared with April 2016’s rate of $1,142.5 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Private construction spending in April was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $943.3 billion, 0.7 percent down from March’s rate of $949.7 billion. Residential construction was at a rate of $516.7 billion, a 0.7 percent decline from March’s rate of $520.4 billion. Nonresidential construction was at a rate of $426.6 billion, a 0.6 percent slide below March’s rate of $429.3 billion.
Public construction spending in April amounted to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $275.3 billion, a 3.7 percent drop from March’s rate of $285.9 billion.
"Most private construction categories have increased significantly in the first four months of this year compared to the same period in 2016, despite a pullback from March to April," said Ken Simonson, the Associated General Contractors of America’s chief economist, in a statement. "But spending on public infrastructure for transportation, water and sewer projects has been slumping."
