U.S. construction spending decreased by 0.5% in July to $2.158 trillion, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau reported on Tuesday, a level not seen since October 2023. The decline came despite economists surveyed expecting no change for the month.
On an annual basis, total construction spending was down 3.8% in July. The agency also revised the June figures to reflect that spending was unchanged, replacing the earlier estimate of a 0.1% decline.
The downturn in July was concentrated in private construction. Private activity fell 0.5% after a 0.1% decrease in June. Within private construction, residential investment retreated 1.3% in July, with single-family housing projects seeing a 3.2% reduction in spending during the month. Over the past year, single-family spending dropped 6.5%.
Mortgage market conditions continue to exert pressure on the single-family segment. Freddie Mac data put the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage near a one-year high at 6.66%. The report noted that rates have risen by almost 70 basis points since the onset of the US-Israeli war with Iran in late February. Builders are also navigating an elevated supply of unsold single-family homes, which further restrains new construction.
By contrast, spending on multi-family housing units edged up 0.2% in July; multi-family represents a smaller share of the housing market than single-family construction.
Private nonresidential structures posted a modest increase of 0.4% for the month. Within that category, outlays on power plants rose 0.5%, while factory project spending fell 0.8% in July and plunged 21.7% year-over-year. The sizable year-over-year drop in factory investment was attributed to the fading impact of the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act. Overall investment in nonresidential structures contracted in the second quarter, marking the 10th consecutive quarterly decline for that segment.
The July figures underscore divergent trends across construction subsectors: single-family residential construction is curbing overall spending, multi-family is holding mostly steady, and nonresidential investment shows a mixed picture with energy-related projects rising while factory investment continues to retreat.