Your Economy (No Politics)

[Bullwinkle]

U.S. construction spending rises 0.8% in February
Monday, April 3, 2006 2:37:43 PM
http://www.afxpress.com


WASHINGTON (AFX) -- Boosted by home building, outlays for U.S. construction projects increased 0.8% in February, the Commerce Department said Monday

Economists had been expecting a gain of about 0.6%, according to a survey conducted by MarketWatch

Meanwhile, January's outlays were revised to show a 0.4% gain compared with the 0.2% increase originally estimated

Construction outlays are up 7.4% since last February at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.19 trillion

The figures are not adjusted for price changes. In February, outlays were led by home construction, which increased 1.3%. Residential outlays are up 7.1% since February 2005 to stand at $665.7 billion

The price index for investments in residences rose about 4.8% in 2005

Private-sector outlays rose 1.2% to $931 billion, while public-sector construction fell 0.5% to $254.4 billion

In the private sector, spending on nonresidential projects rose 0.8% to reach the highest level since October 2001. Spending on business structures has recovered very slowly from the 2001 recession, but it's now up 9.6% on a year-on-year basis

The price index for investments in structures increased about 10.1% in 2005

In February, spending on offices rose 1.5%, spending on commercial space fell 2.1% and spending on manufacturing facilities dropped 3.3%

Big gains were seen in lodging, amusement and power utilities

In the public sphere, federal construction spending dropped 1.8%, while state and local government spending fell 0.4%. Year over year, public outlays are up 6%

In February, outlays for highways and sewers increased by 0.7% and 0.1%, respectively. Outlays for schools were unchanged.

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