Heavy engineering (non-building) construction spending slipped 0.2% on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis in June after rising 0.4% in May. On a year-to-date, not seasonally adjusted (NSA) basis, heavy engineering spending increased 11.0% from 2011. Three of the major heavy engineering spending categories were up for the month — transportation (+2.6%), communication (+4.3%), and highway (+1.5%) construction spending. On a year-to-date basis just two construction spending categories were up compared to a year ago — power (+38.0%) and highway (+3.0%).
U.S. Heavy Engineering (Non-Building) Construction | ||||||||
| Monthly Figures (1) (latest actual values) |
3-Month Moving Average | Year-to-Date (NSA) | ||||||
| Apr-12 | May-12 | Jun-12 | Apr-12 | May-12 | Jun-12 | Jan-10 to Jun-11 |
Jan-11 to Jun-12 |
|
| Transportation | 35.0 | 35.9 | 36.9 | 33.6 | 34.6 | 35.9 | 16.4 | 16.2 |
| Month-over-Month % Change |
6.7% | 2.7% | 2.6% | 0.4% | 2.9% | 3.9% | ||
| Year-over-year % Change (NSA) |
-1.3% | 3.0% | 4.4% | -8.8% | -1.3% | |||
| Communication | 16.9 | 16.9 | 17.7 | 16.9 | 16.9 | 17.2 | 8.3 | 8.1 |
| -0.6% | 0.1% | 4.3% | -1.0% | 0.2% | 1.3% | |||
| -5.2% | 0.3% | -4.8% | 0.2% | -2.3% | ||||
| Power | 94.1 | 93.7 | 90.8 | 94.5 | 94.0 | 92.9 | 32.6 | 44.9 |
| -0.1% | -0.4% | -3.1% | -2.3% | -0.5% | -1.2% | |||
| 38.2% | 34.0% | 20.2% | -3.8% | 38.0% | ||||
| Highway | 79.6 | 79.4 | 80.6 | 78.3 | 78.9 | 79.9 | 31.3 | 32.2 |
| 2.3% | -0.2% | 1.5% | 1.5% | 0.8% | 1.2% | |||
| 6.7% | 7.6% | 3.3% | -5.8% | 3.0% | ||||
| Water and Sewer | 35.8 | 36.0 | 35.8 | 36.5 | 36.1 | 35.9 | 17.3 | 17.2 |
| -1.4% | 0.4% | -0.7% | -1.8% | -1.2% | -0.5% | |||
| -0.8% | 1.8% | -2.9% | -9.8% | -0.8% | ||||
| Conservation & Development | 6.1 | 6.5 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 6.3 | 6.3 | 3.6 | 2.9 |
| -3.6% | 6.2% | -4.0% | 0.7% | 2.2% | -0.6% | |||
| -18.4% | -14.0% | -20.6% | 11.2% | -20.0% | ||||
| Total (2) | 267.5 | 268.5 | 267.9 | 266.0 | 266.8 | 267.9 | 109.5 | 121.5 |
| 1.1% | 0.4% | -0.2% | -0.6% | 0.3% | 0.4% | |||
| 11.8% | 12.4% | 6.0% | -5.4% | 11.0% | ||||
(1) Monthly figures are seasonally adjusted at annual rates (SAAR figures). | ||||||||
Reduction in government funding for infrastructure projects continues to be the biggest negative for heavy engineering construction spending. Growth in the national economy will lead to spending by private industry on heavy engineering construction projects, offsetting (just barely) the cuts in government spending. Recent enactment of legislation providing transportation funding through September 2014 allows some longer-term projects to proceed. The results of that increased spending should show up in the next few months.
Taking all these factors into consideration, the forecast is for heavy engineering projects construction spending to increase 8.2% in 2012 and 4.2% in 2013.
U.S. Heavy Engineering (Non-Building) Construction | ||||||
| Actual | Forecast | |||||
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | |
| Transportation | 35.5 | 36.7 | 38.3 | 34.9 | 36.3 | 40.5 |
| Year-over-year % Change | 11.3% | 3.5% | 4.5% | -9.1% | 4.1% | 11.7% |
| Communication | 26.5 | 19.8 | 17.7 | 17.5 | 17.6 | 19.7 |
| -4.0% | -25.4% | -10.2% | -1.1% | 0.7% | 11.9% | |
| Power | 81.1 | 88.9 | 77.9 | 74.0 | 93.2 | 90.6 |
| 22.7% | 9.6% | -12.3% | -5.1% | 26.0% | -2.9% | |
| Highway | 81.4 | 82.2 | 82.5 | 78.9 | 80.3 | 87.4 |
| 6.1% | 1.0% | 0.4% | -4.4% | 1.8% | 8.8% | |
| Water and Sewer | 42.4 | 40.3 | 41.3 | 36.8 | 36.2 | 36.7 |
| 4.4% | -5.1% | 2.5% | -11.0% | -1.5% | 1.4% | |
| Conservation & Development | 5.2 | 5.8 | 7.2 | 7.4 | 6.2 | 6.4 |
| -0.5% | 9.9% | 24.7% | 2.8% | -15.6% | 2.1% | |
| Total (1) | 272.1 | 273.5 | 265.0 | 249.4 | 270.0 | 281.3 |
| 9.7% | 0.5% | -3.1% | -5.9% | 8.2% | 4.2% | |
(1) Total may not equal the sum of its components due to rounding. | ||||||
Read more forecasts from Reed Construction Data:
Construction Spending Up for Third Consecutive Month
Nonresidential Building Construction Rises for the Second Month in a Row
New Residential Construction Spending Continues Upward
