WASHINGTON, DC—Construction spending reached an annualized rate of $1.253 trillion in December, a record high. The monthly gain of 0.7% marked the fifth consecutive increase in private and public expenditures and also beat analysts' estimates.
However, the full-year 2017 total of $1.23 trillion, 3.8% above the previous year's tally, represented the smallest year-over-year gain since a 2.6% decline in 2011. By comparison, spending increased 11% in 2014, 10.7% in 2015 and 6.5% in 2016.
Keeping the annual increase down was public sector spending, which declined 2.5% Y-O-Y, according to Census Bureau figures released Thursday. At the same time, private construction rose 5.8% to $950.7 billion from the $898.7 billion spent in '16. December's seasonally adjusted annual rate of $963.2 billion for private construction also represented a new record.
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Paul Bubny
Paul Bubny is managing editor of Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. He has been reporting on business since 1988 and on commercial real estate since 2007. He is based at ALM Real Estate Media Group's offices in New York City.
