Construction spending during May 2018 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,309.5 billion, +0.4% above the revised April estimate of $1,304.5 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The May figure is +4.5% above the May 2017 estimate of $1,253.6 billion. During the first five months of this year, construction spending amounted to $497.1 billion, +4.3% above the $476.7 billion for the same period in 2017.
Private construction. Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,005.4 billion, +0.3% above the revised April estimate of $1,002.3 billion. Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $553.8 billion in May, +0.8% above the revised April estimate of $549.3 billion. Nonresidential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $451.5 billion in May, -0.3% below the revised April estimate of $453.0 billion. Single-family building stood out with a +8.2% year-over-year increase to $288.3 billion. Office construction was also solid for the month, up +1.4% over April to $63 billion. That’s up +9.7% over May 2017.
Public construction. In May, the estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction spending was $304.1 billion, +0.7% above the revised April estimate of $302.1 billion. Educational construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $74.3 billion, +0.9% above the revised April estimate of $73.6 billion. On a year-over-year basis, this important construction segment for the electrical wholesaling industry was only up +0.4% over April 2017.