Private construction spending saw a marginal increase nationally towards the end of last year, according to a new report just issued by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Both private residential and nonresidential spending was up as of late November, with overall spending between January and November up just under 8% over the same time period in 2020, indicating a post-pandemic year recovery.
One of the biggest gains was posted in single-family spending, seeing a significant 34% gain over 2020, with multi-family spending up 16%.
According to a press release issued by the Census Bureau, total construction spending for the first 11 months of 2021 equaled $1.4 billion, or “7.9% above the $1.3 billion for the same period in 2020.”
In a different category, owner-occupied improvement spending climbed some 13%.
The latest Census Bureau report also revealed a 0.5% decline in private nonresidential spending, with oil and gas field structures, as well as pipelines, off by 4.3% over 2020.
Indicating the depressed condition of the larger industry in general, spending on lodging construction projects saw the greatest segment decrease with a big 32% decline over 2020.
But in a tale of two industries, the building of warehouses, led by online retailers constantly looking for more storage space, saw a 15% year-to-year increase as of late 2021.
By Garry Boulard
