Heavy engineering (non-building) construction spending was unchanged in November after increasing 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis in October. On a year-to-date, not seasonally adjusted (NSA) basis, heavy engineering spending was 8.2% higher than the same period in 2011.
There were solid increases in construction spending for transportation (+1.3%) and for communication (3.3%) in November.
But these were more than offset by declines in construction spending for power (-0.7%) and for conservation and development
(-13.5%). On a year-to-date basis, three categories posted higher construction spending compared to 2011 — transportation (+7.9%), power (+26.9%), and highway (+1.4%).
U.S. Heavy Engineering (Non-Building) Construction | ||||||||
| Monthly Figures (1) (latest actual values) |
3-Month Moving Average | Year-to-Date (NSA) | ||||||
| Sep-12 | Oct-12 | Nov-12 | Sep-12 | Oct-12 | Nov-12 | Jan-11 to Nov-11 |
Jan-12 to Nov-12 |
|
| Transportation | 39.1 | 41.3 | 41.8 | 38.4 | 39.6 | 40.7 | 32.0 | 34.5 |
| Month-over-Month % Change |
1.9% | 5.6% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 2.9% | 2.9% | ||
| Year-over-year % Change (NSA) |
13.2% | 23.7% | 24.3% | -9.4% | 7.9% | |||
| Communication | 17.8 | 16.6 | 17.2 | 17.3 | 17.1 | 17.2 | 15.8 | 15.5 |
| 6.7% | -6.9% | 3.3% | 0.8% | -1.4% | 0.9% | |||
| -8.0% | 3.8% | 4.2% | -1.0% | -1.8% | ||||
| Power | 90.6 | 90.9 | 90.3 | 90.6 | 90.3 | 90.6 | 66.4 | 84.2 |
| 1.3% | 0.4% | -0.7% | 0.6% | -0.4% | 0.3% | |||
| 20.5% | 13.7% | 11.1% | -4.7% | 26.9% | ||||
| Highway | 78.3 | 77.7 | 78.0 | 79.7 | 78.6 | 78.0 | 73.8 | 74.8 |
| -1.9% | -0.8% | 0.4% | -1.6% | -1.3% | -0.8% | |||
| -6.5% | -0.5% | -5.9% | -4.7% | 1.4% | ||||
| Water and Sewer | 35.1 | 35.4 | 35.5 | 34.3 | 34.9 | 35.3 | 33.9 | 32.7 |
| 2.3% | 0.8% | 0.3% | 0.9% | 1.8% | 1.1% | |||
| -3.5% | -4.4% | -3.8% | -11.4% | -3.6% | ||||
| Conservation & Development | 6.5 | 6.4 | 5.5 | 6.2 | 6.4 | 6.1 | 6.8 | 5.6 |
| 4.0% | -3.0% | -13.5% | 2.6% | 2.7% | -4.2% | |||
| -9.5% | -11.1% | -17.0% | 3.9% | -17.7% | ||||
| Total (2) | 267.5 | 268.3 | 268.3 | 266.6 | 266.9 | 268.0 | 228.7 | 247.3 |
| 1.0% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.4% | |||
| 3.2% | 6.3% | 4.2% | -6.0% | 8.2% | ||||
(1) Monthly figures are seasonally adjusted at annual rates (SAAR figures). | ||||||||
Heavy engineering construction will struggle to obtain government funding for new projects. Public-private partnerships are offsetting some of the lost public funding. Meanwhile, private firms invest in heavy construction projects without direct government funding (power and communication are two major areas). Heavy engineering construction spending is estimated to increase 7.3% in 2012 and is forecasted to increase 3.6% in 2013 and to increase 6.7% in 2014.
U.S. Heavy Engineering (Non-Building) Construction | ||||||
| Actual | Forecast | |||||
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | |
| Transportation | 36.7 | 38.3 | 34.9 | 37.4 | 43.7 | 47.7 |
| Year-over-year % Change | 3.5% | 4.5% | -9.1% | 7.4% | 16.8% | 9.2% |
| Communication | 19.8 | 17.7 | 17.5 | 17.1 | 18.0 | 19.2 |
| -25.4% | -10.2% | -1.1% | -2.4% | 5.0% | 6.9% | |
| Power | 88.9 | 77.9 | 74.0 | 92.4 | 93.1 | 100.6 |
| 9.6% | -12.3% | -5.1% | 25.0% | 0.7% | 8.0% | |
| Highway | 82.2 | 82.5 | 78.9 | 78.9 | 80.0 | 83.8 |
| 1.0% | 0.4% | -4.4% | 0.0% | 1.4% | 4.7% | |
| Water and Sewer | 40.3 | 41.3 | 36.8 | 35.5 | 36.4 | 38.1 |
| -5.1% | 2.5% | -11.0% | -3.3% | 2.4% | 4.8% | |
| Conservation & Development | 5.8 | 7.2 | 7.4 | 6.1 | 6.0 | 6.3 |
| 9.9% | 24.7% | 2.8% | -17.2% | -1.7% | 4.8% | |
| Total (1) | 273.5 | 265.0 | 249.4 | 267.5 | 277.2 | 295.7 |
| 0.5% | -3.1% | -5.9% | 7.3% | 3.6% | 6.7% | |
(1) Total may not equal the sum of its components due to rounding. | ||||||
Read more forecasts from Reed Construction Data:
Construction Spending Slips in November
Nonresidential Building Construction Spending Takes a Step Back in November
New Residential Construction Spending Rises at a Slower Pace in November
