Nonresidential construction spending 0.2% from November 2024 to December 2024 and is up 3% compared with December 2023, according to Associated Builders and Contractors.
For public construction, spending decreased 0.5% for the month and is up 4.1% year to date. Private nonresidential spending rose 0.1% from November 2024 to December 2024 and is up 2.3% year to date. Spending was down for the month in nine of the 16 nonresidential subcategories.
“Public sector nonresidential spending fell sharply in in the last month of 2024, but that decline was likely a short-term phenomenon as the transition between presidential administrations and cold weather delayed construction work,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “While public sector activity should at least partially rebound in the coming months, high interest rates and an emerging trade war with Canada and Mexico will continue to weigh on many privately financed segments.
“What little private sector nonresidential momentum exists remains concentrated in just two segments,” Basu continued. “Data centers, which are part of the office category, and manufacturing accounted for 94% of the increase in total nonresidential construction spending from December 2023 to December 2024. Activity in these segments, and perhaps only these segments, will remain elevated regardless of upward pressure on construction costs.”
