Total construction spending increased 0.3% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.834 trillion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Year-over-year, construction spending increased 3.8%.
Residential construction alone declined 0.2% from February to March, while nonresidential construction inched upward 1.0%.
The overall construction spending increases were largely due to manufacturing construction, which surged 4.6% month-over-month and 62.3% year-over-year.
“The manufacturing construction boom is really helping construction weather the softening residential and other nonresidential markets,” stated Stephen E. Sandherr of the Associated General Contractors of America. “But even as overall demand continues to increase, most firms are having a hard time finding enough workers to keep pace with that demand.”
The full construction spending report can be found here.
