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US: Construction Spending
| Consensus | Consensus Range | Actual | Previous | |
| Month over Month | 0.4% | -0.1% to 0.6% | 0.6% | -0.2% |
Highlights
The delayed March U.S. construction spending report (impacted by the federal government shutdown) showed that activity rebounded following severe winter weather in February and January, although not enough to offset the drop in spending for the prior two months, although it came in at a higher level compared to March 2025.
U.S. construction spending was stronger than expected in March, up 0.6 percent, vs. expectations for a 0.4 percent rise in the Econoday survey of forecasters. February saw a 0.2 percent dip, following January's 1.9 percent decline (revised from -0.3 percent).
The estimated level of construction spending in March is 1.6 percent higher than March 2025.
Private construction spending in March jumped 0.8 percent from February. Residential construction spending rose 1.7 percent and non-residential shrank by 0.2 percent. Private construction spending is up 1.0 percent from March 2025.
Public construction spending was down 0.2 percent from February.
Market Consensus Before Announcement
Construction expected to rebound by 0.2 percent in February and another 0.4 percent on the month in March after dipping by 0.3 percent in January.
* Originally scheduled for 5/1/2026
Definition
The dollar value of new construction activity on residential, non-residential, and public projects. Data are available in nominal and real (inflation-adjusted) dollars.
Description
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.
