The value of construction put in place is unchanged in November after up 0.5 percent in October. The flat reading is below the consensus of up 0.3 percent in the Econoday survey of forecasters. In November a narrow rise of 0.1 percent in residential construction spending is offset by a 0.1 percent decline in nonresidential. Total spending is up 3.0 percent compared to a year ago.

Private residential construction spending is up 0.1 percent in November with an increase of 0.3 percent for single-family homes and a decrease of 1.3 percent in multi-family units. Spending on home improvement total private residential spending less single- and multi- unit homes is up 0.4 percent in November.

Private nonresidential construction spending is unchanged in November from October. Spending on manufacturing has been a mainstay of nonresidential projects, but is down 0.1 percent in November, although up 11.1 percent year-over-year. Commercial real estate projects are up 0.1 percent in November, but down 9.6 percent compared to a year ago.

Spending on public construction is down 0.1 percent in November. Most sectors had small gains or declines that largely offset. The largest sector of spending on highways and streets is up 0.2 in November but down 3.5 percent from November 2023.

Construction spending is seen up 0.3 percent in the latest month as it has trended upward through the fall.

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.