Total Non-Residential Construction Nosediving
With the high vacancy rate in retail and office space across the US, it is no surprise that spending on non-residential construction is dropping rapidly. According to US Census data, total spending rates on construction are down to -4.36% YoY. The last time levels were this bad was in 2010 when the YoY drop bottomed at -20.75%.
Private non-residential construction spending is leading the way down at -6.01%, while the public sector rate is down to -1.95%. As expected the private rates have higher highs and lower lowers but this trend has been more muted in recent years. However, there is no doubt levels are heading lower. The lowest rate for private investment since 2005 was -30.25% and -9.43% for the public rate.
Total non-residential construction spending peaked at $841 Billion in January 2020.
Total private non-residential construction peaked in December 2019 at $501 Billion with public construction peaking at $353 Billion in March 2020.
Happy to hear your thoughts - please reach out.
Paul Mangione
Fort Schuyler Advisors
