Construction Spending at Highest Level Since December '09

Words: Dan KamysConstruction Spending at Highest Level Since December '09

Construction spending in June rose to a 2.5-year high as double-digit percentage increases in private residential and nonresidential construction more than offset an ongoing downturn in public construction, according to an analysis of new federal data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said they expect the disparity between private and public construction is likely to persist and urged policy makers to put more funding into infrastructure projects.

 
“The June spending gains come on top of upward revisions to May and April totals, reinforcing the notion that private construction is now growing consistently,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Even more encouraging, the improvement is showing up in a wide range of residential and nonresidential categories.”
 
Simonson noted that total construction spending gained 0.4 percent for the month and 7.0 percent year-over-year. Private nonresidential spending climbed for the fourth consecutive month and was 14 percent higher than in June 2011. Residential construction increased 1.3 percent for the month and 12 percent year-over-year, with new multifamily construction soaring 3.4 percent and 49 percent, respectively, and single-family homebuilding up 3.0 percent and 19 percent.
 
The construction economist said that five of the 11 private nonresidential categories in the Census Bureau’s monthly report registered double-digit percentage gains in spending from June 2011 to June 2012: power and energy construction (including oil and gas-related projects), 26 percent; hotels, 26 percent; manufacturing and educational, 19 percent apiece; and transportation (mainly trucking and rail facilities), 17 percent. There were also 7 percent year-over-year increases in health care, commercial (retail, warehouse and farm) and office construction.
 
Public construction spending appears to have stabilized in recent months but the June 2012 total was 3.7 percent less than a year earlier, Simonson noted. He said only two of the Census Bureau’s 13 public categories posted year-over-year increases.
PPE That Workers Actually Wear: Building Buy-In Through Education and Smart Selection
August 2026

In masonry construction, personal protective equipment (PPE) is often the last line of defense between a worker and an injury. Yet despite its importance, PPE compliance remains one of the most common challenges on jobsites across the country. The realit

Greg Brown
Safety Library
Read More
Zero Laydown: Navigating the Logistics of Tight Urban Job Sites
August 2026

In modern commercial construction, spatial real estate has become just as valuable as the materials themselves. The industry shift toward high-density, urban projects means that the sprawling job sites of the past have been replaced by tight footprints wh

Shayne Sanders
MAP Partner
Read More
Why "The Software Can't Track That" Is Finally Going Away
August 2026

For as long as specialty contractors have used field software, most of them have kept a workaround somewhere: a spreadsheet on a foreman's laptop, a whiteboard in the trailer, or a text thread where crew leads send block counts at the end of the day becau

Erin Koets
Build Smart
MAP Partner
Read More
Monadnock Building
August 2026

Chicago’s Monadnock Building doesn’t dominate the skyline the way it once did. Surrounded by steel-and-glass towers, the dark brick structure can seem almost understated. But for anyone in the masonry industry, it remains one of the most important buildin

Cass Stern
American Treasure
Brick Clay Brick
Read More