Construction Spending Falls 1.2%

Construction spending fell 1.2% in December, the Commerce Department said Monday.

The decline to a $902.5 billion level for the month matched November’s 1.2% drop which was bigger that originally reported, Commerce said.

December marked the eighth straight downturn. Economists had forecast spending would fall 0.5%, Bloomberg reported.

Private residential construction fell 2.8%, while spending on non-residential construction projects fell 0.5%. Public construction fell 1.2%.

Construction spending can boost demand for trucking services because spending increases the number of shipments of goods and building materials.