Spending on highways and streets totaled $132.1 billion in September, relatively the same as was spent in August, according to Associated Builders and Contractors. Compared to September 2022, spending has risen by 10.4%.
Total construction spending grew 0.4% in September compared to August, and spending is up 8.7% over a year ago. Residential spending was up 0.6%, and nonresidential up 0.3%.
September spending was down versus August in nine of the 16 nonresidential subcategories. Private nonresidential spending increased 0.1%, and public nonresidential construction spending was up 0.5% in September.
Read also: Fleets boost 2024 budgets in response to inflation, supply
“Nonresidential construction spending increased for the 16th straight month in September,” said Anirban Basu, chief economist, in a statement. “While some private categories, including power, commercial, and amusement and recreation saw healthy month-over-month increases, publicly financed construction accounted for more than 72% of September’s rise. Given increased federal infrastructure spending and exorbitant financing costs for private construction, that dynamic should remain firmly in place over the coming months.
“Despite a small decrease in spending in September, manufacturing construction remains the nonresidential sector’s outperformer,” said Basu. “Spending in the category is up 62% over the past year and accounts for nearly 43% of the year-over-year increase in nonresidential construction put in place. With several industrial megaprojects ongoing, spending in the manufacturing segment will remain elevated for several quarters.”
Source: Associated Builders and Contractors
About the Author
Rod Sutton
Sutton served as the editorial lead of Construction Equipment from 2001 through 2025.