The Census Bureau said that private manufacturing construction spending rebounded somewhat in March. The value of construction put in place rose from $77.61 billion at the annual rate in February to $79.33 billion in March, up 2.2 percent for the month. Since achieving the all-time high of $89.65 billion in May 2015, construction activity in the manufacturing sector has ebbed somewhat. Yet, the larger trend has been a positive one, boosted in particular by increased investments in the chemical sector, which continues to benefit from cost advantages in the energy sector. To illustrate this growth, manufacturing construction has risen by 55.0 percent over the past 24 months, even as the year-over-year pace was a decline of 2.0 percent.
ShopFloor is the blog of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).
