U.S. construction spending was nearly flat for the month of October, lifting only slightly over the previous month. Construction spending reached a seasonally adjusted rate of $908.4 billion in October, a 0.8 percent increase over September’s $901.2 billion and 5.3 percent over the $863.1 billion seen in October 2012, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released today.
Private construction spending also rose slightly in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $625.7 billion, 0.5 percent above the September estimate. Spending on residential construction projects dropped 0.5 percent month-over-month but rose 17.4 percent from October 2012. Outlays on non-residential building, meanwhile, rose 1.6 percent month-over-month.
During the first 10 months of 2013, construction spending reached $747 billion, 5 percent above the $711.7 billion in the same period of 2012. — Julie Strickland