Construction Spending Level in July, Commerce Says

Construction spending in the United States was nearly unchanged in July, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday, with an overall value of $834 billion, compared with a revised figure of $833.8 billion in June.

Construction spending can boost demand for trucking services because spending leads to shipments of goods and building materials and increases orders for truck deliveries.

Construction spending on factories, offices and other nonresidential buildings is the lowest since September 1996, Commerce said. Nonresidential construction spending slipped 2.2% in July to $162.1 billion after a 2.9% drop in June.

Bloomberg reported that demand for new offices and factories has been slack since mid-2000 when companies began paring back their spending.

The lower level of construction spending helps explain an earlier report by the Labor Department 30,000 construction workers lost their jobs in July. So far in 2002, 109,000 construction jobs have been cut, Labor said.

Construction of new homes has stayed healthy, the report said. New home construction rose 0.1% in July. Single-family home construction outpaced fewer apartments and other multifamily dwellings, Commerce said.

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