Overall nonresidential construction spending declined on a monthly basis of 0.8% in March, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data published May 2. That followed nonresidential spending gains in the first two months of the year.
Spending in March was still up 5.6% year-over-year, thanks in part to a 31.9% gain in manufacturing construction spending since March 2021, according to ABC. Using a seasonally adjusted annual rate, nonresidential spending totaled $839.2 billion in March—or roughly half of the $1.73 billion overall total for the month. However, spending was down on a monthly basis in 11 out of 16 categories.