Arlington, VA ¡ª Citing a July 1 report by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. (ABC) is reporting on its website that nonresidential construction spending hit an all-time high of $405.3 billion in May 2008. This represents a 0.2 percent rise on a monthly, seasonally-adjusted basis compared to April 2008.

According to ABC¡¯s Chief Economist, Aniban Basu, the nonresidential construction spending data remains inconsistent with the country¡¯s broader economic weakness.

¡°The slumping U.S. economy has yet to become apparent in nonresidential construction spending,¡± said Basu. ¡°In fact, several of the forces that have produced a weaker U.S. economy are actually stimulating nonresidential construction, including the power and manufacturing sectors.¡±

Total construction spending, including both nonresidential and residential, reached $1.085 trillion in May on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis. This represents a 5.1 percent decrease since the beginning of the year and a 6 percent drop since May 2007.

 ¡°A weaker U.S. dollar, which has hampered consumer spending and has exasperated inflationary expectations, has produced a new demand for the construction of manufacturing facilities among goods producers in America¡¯s domestic market,¡± said Basu. ¡°In addition, several massive power generating facility projects are now underway in various parts of the U.S., and as a result, the nonresidential construction spending level may remain steady.¡±

Of the 16 reported nonresidential sectors, lodging reported the largest gain over the past year, rising 35.7 percent compared to May 2007, followed by manufacturing which rose 34.2 percent; power which rose 27.1 percent; and public safety, which rose 23.9 percent over the past year, Basu noted.

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