Construction Spending Unexpectedly Surged in January

After five disappointing months, construction spending outperformed expectations in January.

The Commerce Department said on Tuesday that construction spending increased 1.3 percent. Spending on single-family construction jumped 1.3 percent. Nonresidential private sector construction rose 1.8 percent.

Compared with a year ago, construction spending was up 8.2 percent. Single-family home construction spending was up 15.4 percent.

Economists had forecast a decline of 0.2 percent.

Spending on multifamily units fell by one-tenth of a percent compared with December. Compared with a year earlier, apartment and condo construction spending is up 4.8 percent.

In the nonresidential category, spending on manufacturing construction soared 8.5 percent. Compared with January 2021, spending was up 31.5 percent.

Government construction spending rose 0.6 percent compared with the prior month and is up 1.3 percent compared with a year ago.

December was revised up from a gain of 0.2 percent to 0.8 percent.

The figures are not adjusted for inflation. Costs of construction materials and labor have been rising rapidly in recent months.