May Construction Holds Firm But Report Shows Divergence among
Public, Private and Residential Building, AGC Economist Says
"Construction activity weakened slightly in May but remained a tad ahead of the year-ago level," said Kenneth D. Simonson, Chief Economist for Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), the nation's leading construction trade association. "But today's report from the Census Bureau on the value of construction put in place showed growing divergence among public, private nonresidential and private residential construction."
The aggregate figure from the Census Bureau showed that the value of construction put in place in May, $852 billion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, was just 0.7% below the revised April total of $858 billion and 0.6% above the revised May 2001 level of $847 billion. However, the earlier figures were revised sharply downward (from $872 billion in April 2002 and $870 billion in May 2001), as were many of the monthly numbers for the past three years. On a year-to-date basis, construction put in place in the first five months of 2002 was virtually unchanged from the same period of 2001.