September construction spending slumped 0.5% compared with August, falling to $1.57 trillion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported. It was the first month-over-month decline in construction spending recorded since February.
Compared with September 2020, construction spending increased 7.8% overall.
Residential construction construction spending fell 0.4% from August but was up 19.0% year-over-year. Nonresidential construction spending, which has fared worse since the pandemic compared with residential, dropped 0.6% month-over-month and 1.3% year-over-year.
“Spending on projects has been slowed by shortages of workers and materials, as well as extended or uncertain delivery times,” stated Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America. “And the extreme rise in materials costs is likely to mean some infrastructure projects will no longer be affordable without additional funding.”
