Construction Spending Drops 1.1%

Kenworth Truck Co.

Construction spending fell 1.1% in March, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

The downturn followed a revised 0.4% gain in February that was originally reported as a decline, Commerce said.

Economists had forecast a 0.7% decline, Bloomberg reported.

Private residential construction plunged 4.6%, the biggest drop since comparable records began being kept in 1993, Bloomberg said.

Non-residential construction, including public projects, rose 1.3%, though it was up 12% from a year earlier.
 
Construction spending can boost demand for trucking services because spending increases the number of shipments of goods and building materials.