Article source: ConstructConnect

In the latest month, total U.S. put-in-place construction spending, as measured by the Census Bureau, was -2.1% year to date (ytd ‒ i.e., Jan-Sept 2019 versus Jan-Sept 2018). As for the total’s two major sub-components, residential (with a 40% share) was in decline, at -7.9% ytd, while nonresidential (with a 60% share) was modestly ahead, +2.2% ytd.

In concept, put-in-place construction figures are the summation of work-in-progress payments during any given month for all structures being built. With respect to timing, they lag ‘starts’ statistics which are the summation of estimated final costs of all projects breaking ground in any given month.

A Flatlining in the Total Construction Curve

Graph 1 shows a flatlining in the level of total U.S. PIP construction dollars over the past two years, and maybe extending back three years. 2018 and 2019 have been only a little better than 2017.
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