March’s Monthly Construction Spending Softens But YOY Data Remains Strong

Total construction spending during March 2022 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,730.5 billion, +0.1% above the revised February estimate of $1,728.6 billion. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the March figure is +11.7% above the March 2021 estimate of $1,548.6 billion. During the first three months of this year, construction spending amounted to $376.6 billion, +12% above the $336.3 billion for the same period in 2021.

Private construction

Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,379.7 billion, +0.2% above the revised February estimate of $1,376.9 billion. Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $882 billion in March, +1% above the revised February estimate of $873.2 billion. Nonresidential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $497.6 billion in March, -1.2% below the revised February estimate of $503.6 billion.

Private commercial construction stood out for its year-over-year (YOY) growth. While it was down -1.9% in March to $94.8 billion, it’s up +15.5% year-over-year. Much of this growth was due to a run-up in spending on warehouses, with general commercial warehouses up +18.7% to $49.1 billion and mini-storage warehouse construction up +14.7% to $4 billion YOY.

Public construction

In March, the estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction spending was $350.8 billion, -0.2% below the revised February estimate of $351.7 billion. Educational construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $80.3 billion, -0.8% below the revised February estimate of $81 billion.