2018.10.0110:57:00UTC+00U.S. Construction Spending Shows Slight Uptick In August

With a jump in spending on public construction largely offset by a drop in spending on private construction, the Commerce Department released a report on Monday showing construction spending in the U.S. ticked up by much less than expected in the month of August.

The Commerce Department said construction spending inched up by 0.1 percent to an annual rate of $1.319 trillion in August after rising by 0.2 percent to an upwardly revised $1.317 trillion in July.

Economists had expected construction spending to climb by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.1 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.

The modest increase in construction spending came as spending on public construction surged up by 2.0 percent to a rate of $316.7 billion in August from $310.5 billion in July.

Spending on educational construction jumped by 1.0 percent to a rate of $72.3 billion, while spending on highway construction spiked by 1.7 percent to a rate of $99.0 billion.

On the other hand, the report said spending on private construction fell by 0.5 percent to a rate of $1.002 trillion in August from $1.007 trillion in July.

While spending on residential construction slid by 0.7 percent to a rate of $548.9 billion, spending on non-residential construction edged down by 0.2 percent to a rate of $452.9 billion.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said total construction spending in August was up by 6.5 percent compared to the same month a year ago.