Total construction spending increased by 0.6 percent in October, led by strong gains for manufacturing, power, and education projects as well as single-family homebuilding, according to an analysis of federal spending data the Associated General Contractors of America released today. Association officials noted, however, that spending on other nonresidential segments, including commercial construction and highway and street construction, declined.
鈥淚t is apparent that the construction market overall remains healthy,鈥 said Ken Simonson, the association鈥檚 chief economist. 鈥淏ut a rotation is occurring among nonresidential segments as manufacturing construction expands while commercial construction slumps and highway and street spending stagnates. On the residential side, single-family construction is picking up, while multifamily is descending from record highs.鈥
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