Construction spending held steady in March, rising 0.1% from February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.73 trillion, the Census Bureau reported. Year-over-year, construction spending increased 11.7%.
All of the increases in March came from the private residential sector, which increased 1.0% for the month and 18.4% from March 2021. Private nonresidential spending declined 1.2% from February and increased 8.5% from March 2021.
“Contractors continue to report strong demand for most types of structures, with few owners canceling or postponing planned projects,” Ken Simonson, the Associated General Contractors of America’s chief economist, said in a statement. However, worker shortages and supply-chain problems caused by lockdowns in China and the war in Ukraine are slowing project completions, he added.
