Construction Spending Drops 0.8% in January

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U.S. construction spending fell 0.8% January, the Commerce Department said Thursday.The drop followed a revised 0.6% increase in December that was originally reported as a decline, Commerce said.Economists had forecast spending to fall by 0.5%, Bloomberg reported.Private residential construction fell 1.8% in a 10th straight decline.Non-residential construction, including public projects, increased 0.2%, Commerce said. Public construction rose 0.6%, following a 2.4% increase.Construction spending can boost demand for trucking services because spending increases the number of shipments of goods and building materials.