Construction Spending Rises in September

Construction spending rose in September to the highest level in three years, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

The 0.6% rise brought outlays up to $851.6 billion, the most since October 2009 and followed a revised 0.1% decrease in July, that was smaller than previously estimated, Commerce said.

Economists had forecast a 0.7% increase, Bloomberg reported.

Private non-residential construction spending decreased 0.1%, while homebuilding outlays rose 2.8%.

Public construction dropped 0.8% from the prior month.

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