The Department of Commerce said construction spending during March 2015 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $966.6 billion, 0.6% percent below the revised February estimate of $972.9 billion. The March figure is 2% above the March 2014 estimate of $947.3 billion. During the first three months of this year, construction spending amounted to $206.7 billion, 3.2% above the $200.4 billion for the same period in 2014.
Private construction. Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $702.4 billion, 0.3% below the revised February estimate of $704.7 billion. Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $349 billion in March, 1.6% below the revised February estimate of $354.6 billion. Nonresidential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $353.4 billion in March, 1% above the revised February estimate of $350.1 billion.
Several of the most important private construction niches are seeing very nice year over year (YOY) gains. Office construction is up 26.3% to $42.25 billion; commercial construction is up 12.1% to $57.45 billion; and manufacturing is up 50.7% to $69.81 billion.
Public construction. In March, the estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction spending was $264.2 billion, 1.5% below the revised February estimate of $268.2 billion. Educational construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $58.4 billion, 2.2% below the revised February estimate of $59.7 billion. At $2.18 billion, public commercial construction was 35.8% YOY and public residential construction was up 16.5% YOY to $5.79 billion.
Highway construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $78 billion, 2.4% below the revised February estimate of $79.9 billion.
