The U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced Tuesday that construction spending during June 2018 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.31 trillion, 1.1% below the revised May estimate of $1.33 trillion.
The June figure is 6.1% above the June 2017 estimate of $1.24 trillion.
Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $ $1,019.8 billion, 0.4% below the revised May estimate of $1,023.9 billion.
Of that, residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $568.3 billion in June, 0.5% below the revised May estimate of $570.9 billion.
Although the Census bureau’s report indicated moderate decline, Dodge & Data Analytics indicated that U.S. residential construction starts posted a 4% increase over May in June.
This increase was led by multifamily growth despite slowly growing vacancy numbers. Single-family housing starts climbed as well, increasing only 2% in June, but still hovering around the improved activity levels that emerged at the end of 2017.
Despite changes in construction spending and starts, the most recent National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index report states sharply elevated lumber prices contributed to homebuilder confidence slipping two points to 68 in June.
Notably, the ADP and Moody's Analytics National Employment Report shows construction jobs increased 7,000 jobs in June, potentially meaning the construction sector is on the move.
