Heavy engineering (non-building) construction spending sank 1.4% on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis in August after declining 0.7% in July. Nonetheless, on a year-to-date not seasonally adjusted (NSA) basis, heavy engineering spending advanced 9.5% over the same period in 2011.
Water and sewer construction spending was the only major heavy engineering spending category to rise in August, jumping 1.5% after rising 0.4% in July. However, reflecting earlier declines, on a year-to-date basis, it was down 2.9% from last year.
Transportation ended four consecutive months of increases, falling 1.0% in August. On a year-to-date basis, the measure was up 2.4% from a year earlier. Two other heavy engineering categories were up on a year-to-date basis — power (+31.1%) and highway (+4.5%).
U.S. Heavy Engineering (Non-Building) Construction | ||||||||
| Monthly Figures (1) (latest actual values) |
3-Month Moving Average | Year-to-Date (NSA) | ||||||
| Jun-12 | Jul-12 | Aug-12 | Jun-12 | Jul-12 | Aug-12 | Jan-11 to Aug-11 |
Jan-12 to Aug-12 |
|
| Transportation | 37.6 | 37.8 | 37.4 | 36.6 | 37.6 | 37.6 | 22.7 | 23.3 |
| Month-over-Month % Change |
0.9% | 0.4% | -1.0% | 4.6% | 2.5% | 0.1% | ||
| Year-over-year % Change (NSA) |
7.4% | 11.6% | 4.9% | -8.8% | 2.4% | |||
| Communication | 17.4 | 17.3 | 16.7 | 17.1 | 17.2 | 17.1 | 11.3 | 11.0 |
| 3.0% | -0.7% | -3.4% | 0.8% | 0.8% | -0.4% | |||
| -6.1% | 0.3% | -4.7% | -0.2% | -2.5% | ||||
| Power | 88.8 | 87.7 | 85.1 | 91.7 | 89.5 | 87.2 | 45.3 | 59.4 |
| -3.5% | -1.2% | -3.0% | -1.9% | -2.3% | -2.6% | |||
| 17.3% | 18.6% | 12.6% | -3.0% | 31.1% | ||||
| Highway | 82.3 | 81.5 | 81.0 | 80.7 | 81.4 | 81.6 | 48.5 | 50.7 |
| 2.4% | -1.0% | -0.7% | 1.9% | 0.8% | 0.2% | |||
| 6.1% | 8.5% | 2.4% | -5.3% | 4.5% | ||||
| Water and Sewer | 34.2 | 34.4 | 34.9 | 35.3 | 34.8 | 34.5 | 23.9 | 23.2 |
| -4.0% | 0.4% | 1.5% | -2.0% | -1.4% | -0.8% | |||
| -7.3% | -6.4% | -5.2% | -11.3% | -2.9% | ||||
| Conservation & Development | 6.1 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 6.2 | 6.1 | 5.9 | 4.9 | 3.9 |
| -5.5% | -3.0% | -2.5% | -1.3% | -1.0% | -3.7% | |||
| -22.9% | -16.6% | -26.7% | 10.1% | -20.9% | ||||
| Total (2) | 266.5 | 264.6 | 260.8 | 267.6 | 266.6 | 264.0 | 156.7 | 171.5 |
| -0.8% | -0.7% | -1.4% | 0.3% | -0.4% | -1.0% | |||
| 5.8% | 8.4% | 3.1% | -5.4% | 9.5% | ||||
(1) Monthly figures are seasonally adjusted at annual rates (SAAR figures). | ||||||||
There are serious impediments that heavy engineering construction has to overcome. These include cutbacks in funding from the government for repair and maintenance of infrastructure, as well as new projects. Offsetting this is the continued growth of the U.S. economy combined with low long-term interest rates encouraging business investment.
Heavy engineering construction spending is projected to advance 6.8% in 2012, 4.6% in 2013, and 6.6% in 2014.
U.S. Heavy Engineering (Non-Building) Construction | ||||||
| Actual | Forecast | |||||
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | |
| Transportation | 36.7 | 38.3 | 34.9 | 36.6 | 41.0 | 44.8 |
| Year-over-year % Change | 3.5% | 4.5% | -9.1% | 5.0% | 11.9% | 9.2% |
| Communication | 19.8 | 17.7 | 17.5 | 17.2 | 18.8 | 20.2 |
| -25.4% | -10.2% | -1.1% | -1.8% | 9.4% | 7.0% | |
| Power | 88.9 | 77.9 | 74.0 | 90.6 | 90.0 | 95.6 |
| 9.6% | -12.3% | -5.1% | 22.5% | -0.7% | 6.1% | |
| Highway | 82.2 | 82.5 | 78.9 | 80.6 | 87.5 | 93.5 |
| 1.0% | 0.4% | -4.4% | 2.2% | 8.6% | 6.8% | |
| Water and Sewer | 40.3 | 41.3 | 36.8 | 35.4 | 35.4 | 37.0 |
| -5.1% | 2.5% | -11.0% | -3.7% | -0.1% | 4.7% | |
| Conservation & Development | 5.8 | 7.2 | 7.4 | 6.0 | 5.8 | 6.0 |
| 9.9% | 24.7% | 2.8% | -19.2% | -2.6% | 3.6% | |
| Total (1) | 273.5 | 265.0 | 249.4 | 266.4 | 278.6 | 297.0 |
| 0.5% | -3.1% | -5.9% | 6.8% | 4.6% | 6.6% | |
(1) Total may not equal the sum of its components due to rounding. | ||||||
Read more forecasts from Reed Construction Data:
Construction Spending Slips Further in August
Nonresidential Building Construction Hits an Air Pocket in August
New Residential Construction Spending — Another Strong Performance in August
