The total value of construction put in place is down 0.1 percent in April from March and down an unrevised 0.2 percent in March from February. The April change is below the consensus of up 0.2 percent in the Econoday survey of forecasters. The change in construction spending is due to a decline of 0.3 percent in nonresidential building while residential is up 0.1 percent. Construction spending is up 10.0 percent compared to April 2023, with residential up 8.1 percent and nonresidential up 11.5 percent.

Spending on private residential construction month-over-month is up a narrow 0.1 percent for single-family units and down 0.3 percent for multi-family projects. Spending on home improvement total private residential less single- and multi-unit spending is up 0.3 percent in April. Lack of supply of existing homes continues to support building of single-family units, while those who have low-rate mortgages are staying in place and performing upgrades and repairs. Private nonresidential construction spending has declines in most categories. The largest category by dollar value of manufacturing about 30 percent of the total is up 0.9 percent in April from March and up 17.1 percent year-over-year. Spending on private commercial projects is down 1.1 percent in April from March and flat compared to April 2023.

Total private construction is down 0.1 percent in April from March and up 8.1 percent compared to a year ago. Public construction is down 0.2 percent in April from the prior month but up 16.7 percent year-over-year. Declines in public spending were widespread in April, although stronger overall compared to the same time last year.

Construction spending is expected to increase 0.2 percent on the month in April versus March's 0.2 percent decline that saw a sharp fall in residential spending.

The dollar value of new construction activity on residential, non-residential, and public projects. Data are available in nominal and real (inflation-adjusted) dollars.

Construction spending has a direct bearing on stocks, bonds and commodities because it is a part of the economy that is affected by interest rates, business cash flow and even federal fiscal policy. In a more specific sense, trends in the construction data carry valuable clues for the stocks of home builders and large-scale construction contractors. Commodity prices such as lumber are also very sensitive to housing industry trends.

Businesses only put money into the construction of new factories or offices when they are confident that demand is strong enough to justify the expansion. The same goes for individuals making the investment in a home.

A portion of construction spending is related to government projects such as education buildings as well a highways and streets. While investors are more concerned with private construction spending, the government projects put money in the hands of laborers who then have more money to spend on goods and services.

On a technical note, construction outlays for private residential, private nonresidential, and government are key inputs into three components of GDP--residential investment, nonresidential structures investment, and the structures portion of government expenditures.

That is why construction spending is a good indicator of the economy's momentum.