Private Construction Little-Changed Near 6-Year Highs

Total construction expenditures nationwide in October are estimated to have been at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $971.0 billion.  The Census Bureau said that this represented an increase of 1.1 percent from the September estimate of $960.3 billion and was 3.3 percent higher than a year earlier when total expenditures were at a rate of $939.9 billion.

Total residential spending in October was at a rate of $359.2 billion, an increase of 1.3 percent month-over-month and 1.7 percent year-over-year. 

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis total construction spending in October was $89.6 billion compared to $87.2 billion a year earlier.  Total year-to-date construction spending is 5.8 percent higher than in 2013.  Through October 2014 spending is estimated to have been $800.6 billion compared to $756.5 billion during the same period in 2013. 

Private construction spending in total is estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $692.4 billion, 0.6 percent higher than in September when spending was estimated at $688.0 billion and 4.0 percent above the $665.5 billion in expenditures a year earlier.  Year-to-date spending is up 8.1 percent from an estimate of $528.3 billion through October 2013 to $571.0 billion thus far this year.

Private spending on residential construction in October was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $353.8 billion compared to $349.1 billion in September, a 1.3 percent gain.  The October number was 1.9 percent higher than private residential construction spending in October 2013, estimated at $347.3 billion.

Of private residential construction expenditures $197.8 billion was for single family units and $45.3 was multifamily construction.  The single family figure is 1.8 percent above September's estimate and13.2 percent higher than a year earlier. Multifamily construction spending was 1.0 and 27.2 percent higher than in the two corresponding earlier periods.  Multifamily construction spending is also running 35 percent higher on a year-to-date basis than in 2013; $35.5 billion vs $26.4 billion.

On a non-adjusted basis private residential spending in October was 33.4 billion compared to $33.2 billion a year earlier.  New residential single family construction accounted for $17.9 billion of the total.  Private single family construction in October 2013 was estimated at $15.8 billion.

Total public construction monies expended in October were at an estimated annual rate of $278.6 billion, an increase of 2.3 percent from September and 1.5 percent from October 2013.  Residential spending was at an annual rate of $5.3 billion, a decrease of 2.2 percent on a monthly and 11.0 percent on an annual basis.  Year-to-date public residential construction spending is down 15.5 percent compared to the same period in 2013.