US Macro Updates

Key takeaway: Construction spending in the US was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of $1.996 Tn in September, 0.4% above the revised August estimate of $1.988 Tn. This still reflects quite solid construction spending in the US. On one had we have had weak manufacturing PMIs for most of the past 12 months. On the other hand, indicators like core capital goods new orders and construction spending have remained resilient through the same period. Residential construction, which had been relatively softer compared to 2022, once again grew a decent 0.6% m-o-m in September to a SA annualized rate of $882Bn. The latest figure is only 2% below September 2022 levels. Interestingly, for a second month in a row, New Single Family home construction spending has been growing at a faster pace compared to multi-family housing construction. Single family private construction grew at 1.3% m-o-m in September. New multi-family residential construction declined 0.1% m-o-m in September. This recent trend has been in contrast to the big surge in multi-family housing construction seen through most of 2022 and early 2023. Lastly, construction spending in Manufacturing i.e. the building of factories, etc. which has recorded stellar growth in the past 12-15 months, declined 0.4% to a SA annualized rate of US$198.9 Bn. However, even with the small decline, it still stands 62% above the same period in 2022!. New factories have been rising in the US especially in areas promoted through government led incentives, for instance electric vehicle batteries and semi-conductors.  

• Construction spending increased 0.4% m-o-m in Sep 2023 to a SAAR of $1.996 Tn (Expectations +0.4%)

2nd Oct 2023

Key takeaway: Construction spending in the US was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of $1.983 Tn in August, 0.5% above the revised July estimate of $1.973 Tn. This still reflects quite solid construction spending in the US. On one had we have had weak manufacturing PMIs for most of the past 12 months. On the other hand, indicators like core capital goods new orders and construction spending have remained resilient through the same period. Residential construction, which had been relatively softer compared to 2022, grew a decent 0.6% m-o-m in August to a SA annualized rate of $889Bn. The latest figure is only 3% below August 2022 levels. Interestingly, New Single Family home construction spending has been growing at a faster pace compared to multi-family housing construction. Single family private construction grew at 1.7% m-o-m in August. New multi-family residential construction grew at a 0.6% m-o-m in August. This data point also stands corroborated by the similarly resilient Housing Starts and Building Permits data released by the US Department of Housing. Lastly, construction spending in Manufacturing i.e. the building of factories, etc. which has recorded stellar growth in the past 12-15 months, once again grew a solid 1.2% to a SA annualized rate of US$198 Bn. (65% above the same period in 2022!). New factories have been rising in the US especially in areas promoted through government led incentives, for instance electric vehicle batteries and semi-conductors.  

• Construction spending increased 0.5% m-o-m in Aug 2023 to a SAAR of $1.983 Tn (Expectations +0.5%)

1st Sep 2023

Key takeaway: Construction spending in the US was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of $1.97 Tn in July, 0.7% above the revised June estimate of $1.958 Tn. This still reflects quite solid construction spending in the US. Residential construction, which had been relatively softer compared to 2022, grew a good 1.4% m-o-m in July to a SA annualized rate of $889Bn. However, that is still 5% below July 2022. Interestingly, New Single Family home construction spending has been growing at a faster pace compared to multi-family housing construction. Single family private construction grew at 1.4% m-o-m in July. Construction spending in Manufacturing i.e. the building of factories, etc. which has recorded stellar growth in the past 12-15 months, once again grew a solid 1.1% to a SA annualized rate of US$201 Bn. (70% above the same period in 2022!). New factories have been rising in the US especially in areas promoted through government led incentives, for instance electric vehicle batteries and semi-conductors.  

• Construction spending increased 0.7% m-o-m in Jul 2023 to a SAAR of $1.97 Tn (Expectations +0.5%)

1st Aug 2023

Key takeaway: Construction spending in the US was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of $1.94 Tn in June, 0.5% above the revised May estimate of $1.93 Tn. Similar to the previous month of May, Residential construction, which had been relatively softer compared to 2022, grew 0.9% m-o-m in June to a SA annualized rate of $867Bn. However, that is still 10% below June 2022. Construction spending in Manufacturing i.e. the building of factories, etc. which has recorded stellar growth in the past 12-15 months, grew 0.3% to a SA annualized rate of US$196 Bn. (80% above the same period in 2022!). New factories have been rising in the US especially in areas promoted through government led incentives, for instance electric vehicle batteries and semi-conductors.  

• Construction spending increased 0.5% m-o-m in Jun 2023 to a SAAR of $1.94 Tn (Expectations +0.6%)

3rd Jul 2023

Key takeaway: Construction spending in the US was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of $1.93 Tn in May, 0.9% above the revised April estimate of $1.91 Tn. Residential construction, which had been relatively softer compared to 2022, grew 1% m-o-m in May to a SA annualized rate of $867Bn. However, that is still 11% below May 2022. On the other hand, construction spending in Manufacturing i.e. the building of factories, etc. continued to be strong – growing 1.0% m-o-m to a SA annualized rate of $194bn. (76% above the same period in 2022!). New factories have been rising in the US especially in areas promoted through government led incentives, for instance electric vehicle batteries and semi-conductors.  

• Construction spending increased 0.9% m-o-m in May 2023 to a SAAR of $1.93 Trillion (Expectations +0.5%)

1st May 2023

Key takeaway: Construction spending in the US was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of $1.83 Tn in Mar, 0.3% above the Feb estimate of $1.82 Tn and 3.8% above the Mar 2022 estimate of $1.77 Tn. This was a fairly positive print. Construction spending has continued to increase in the US even as many expected the slowing economy to start reflecting in the construction industry numbers. Within the construction spending data, Residential construction spending data continued to trend down, but construction in all other non-residential segments continued to build up. One of the key segments, where construction has remained strong is Manufacturing i.e. the building of factories. Value of construction spending in Manufacturing was at a record $147bn in Mar 2023 – an almost 60% increase from a year back. New factories have been rising in the US especially in areas promoted through government led incentives, for instance electric vehicle batteries and semi-conductors.  

• Construction spending increased 0.3% m-o-m in Mar 2023 to a SAAR of $1.83 Trillion (Expectations +0.1%)