Construction spending up over last year

Construction put in place in January across the country was valued at $943 billion, up almost 10 percent from the same period a year ago, according to the Associated General Contractors of America.

Spending was up just 0.1 percent from December, when construction put in place totaled about $942 billion. But spending in January was up 9.3 percent from January 2013, when construction was valued at $855 billion, a release from the AGC said.

The year-over-year increase in construction spending was the highest percent growth since May 2006 over May 2005, the AGC said. Public, residential and commercial construction were all better in January than they were in January 2013, the AGC reported.

“Overall construction spending increased in January compared with both December and January 2013 despite uncommonly adverse weather conditions,” Ken Simonson, the AGC’s chief economist, said in the release. “The monthly gains were limited to homebuilding and multifamily residential construction, although private nonresidential work should rebound in the next few months. Public construction is up for now on a year-over-year basis, but funding remains questionable.”

Private residential construction spending increased by 1.1 percent in January from December and jumped 15 percent over 12 months, according to the AGC. Private nonresidential spending slipped 0.2 percent for the month, but rose 9.7 percent compared to January 2013. Public construction spending dropped 0.8 percent for the month, but increased 2.5 percent from a year earlier.