Dive Brief:
- Construction spending increased 1.0% between September and October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.107 trillion — its highest level since December 2007, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.
- The October figure is 13.0% higher than during October 2014. The Commerce Department also noted that during the first 10 months of 2015, spending was 10.7% above the rate during the same time period in 2014.
- Private construction grew 0.8% between September and October, as residential rose 1.0%, and nonresidential increased 0.6%. Public construction also saw gains in October, at 1.4% above September's rate.
Dive Insight:
The October results surpassed expectations, as economists surveyed by data firm FactSet had predicted a rise of 0.6% in October. This higher-than-expected increase brings construction spending back to levels last seen at the start of the recession.
Construction spending has been steadily increasing, with October's rise marking the 11th-straight monthly bump in spending. Last month, the department reported spending grew 0.6% between August and September.
The Commerce Department report has kept the industry's spending growth streak alive and added to the overall sense of optimism for the construction sector's recovery. The spending data coincides with the Dodge 2016 Construction Outlook released last month, which predicted that starts for the sector will grow 13% this year and 5% in 2016
