With the U.S. housing market down dramatically from recent heights and the economy slowing, July's 1.2% fall in overall construction spending should come as no surprise. Spending was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.2 trillion, the U.S. Commerce Department reported on September 1.
Spending on private construction, including new homes, was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $930.9 billion in July, 1.3% below June's revised figure of $943.2 billion. Public construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $269.1 billion in July, seven-tenths of a percentage point below the revised June figure of $271.1 billion.
