Construction Spending

Construction spending, also known as construction put in place, reports the dollar value of newly completed structures. It is the most comprehensive indicator of national construction activity. Individual data series are available for several building types, including: residential/non-residential, private/public, and other structures, such as roads and utility lines. This release is used to estimate the contribution of construction to the investment component of the GDP. Since a building is not recorded in the data series until it is completed, this series is a lagging indicator of construction activity. Since no square footage reported, it is less useful for gauging overbuilding. It is also volatile and subject to revision. Only trends extending over three months or more can be viewed as significant. Construction Permit issuances, also available from the Bureau of the Census, for residential structures, and proprietary databases of non-residential construction starts are more useful as leading indicators of activity. The Construction Spending report is scheduled for release at 9:00 (CST) on the first business day of the month (data for two months prior) by the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce.

POTENTIAL IMPACT ON INTEREST RATES: LOW