Construction spending slumped 0.7% from $798 billion in December to $792 billion in January, the lowest seasonally adjusted annual rate since July 2000, the Associated General Contractors of America noted this week in an analysis of new Census Bureau data. Association officials noted that nearly every private nonresidential category plunged, offsetting pickups in some residential and public nonresidential segments. They added that since January 2010, construction spending has declined by 5.9%.
“These discouraging figures show that millions of construction workers and their firms are still suffering from the economic downturn, despite a year and a half of growth in the overall economy,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Other than an uptick in the construction of truck terminals and railroad facilities, private-sector demand for construction remains extremely low.”