Construction Spending Shows Mixed Results in May as Infrastructure Categories Lag While Manufacturing Projects and Homebuilding Surge
Construction Association Urges Federal Officials to Issue Timely, Clear, and Consistent Regulations That Will Facilitate Spending to Proceed on a Wide Range of Projects Already Approved by Congress
Total construction spending in May increased by 0.9 percent from April and 2.4 percent year-over-year as gains in manufacturing construction and single-family homebuilding offset a downturn in major infrastructure segments, according to an analysis today by the Associated General Contractors of America of new federal data. Association officials cautioned that unclear and contradictory government regulations were slowing a variety of publicly funded projects and they urged the Biden administration to speed the awarding of contracts.
“The data for May show there has been no letup in the feverish pace of manufacturing construction but a very mixed picture for other project types,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “There have been strong year-over-year increases in most categories, but it remains to be seen if the market is now cooling.”