search
cart
facebook instagram twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • CONTRACTORS
    • BATH & KITCHEN PRO
    • BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
    • HIGH EFFICIENCY HOMES
    • TECHNOLOGY
    • WATER TREATMENT
    • PMC COLUMNS
      • Dave Yates: Contractor’s Corner
      • John Siegenthaler: Hydronics Workshop
      • Kenny Chapman: The Blue Collar Coach
      • Matt Michel: Service Plumbing Pros
      • Scott Secor: Heating Perceptions
  • ENGINEERS
    • CONTINUING EDUCATION
    • DECARBONIZATION | ELECTRIFICATION
    • FIRE PROTECTION
    • GEOTHERMAL | SOLAR THERMAL
    • PIPING | PLUMBING | PVF
    • PME COLUMNS
      • Christoph Lohr: Strategic Plumbing Insights
      • David Dexter: Plumbing Talking Points
      • James Dipping: Engineer Viewpoints
      • John Seigenthaler: Renewable Heating Design
      • Lowell Manalo: Plumbing Essentials
      • Misty Guard: Guard on Compliance
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
    • RADIANT COMFORT REPORT
    • THE GLITCH & THE FIX
  • INSIGHTS
    • CODES
    • GREEN PLUMBING & MECHANICAL
    • PROJECT PROFILES
    • COLUMNS
      • Codes Corner
      • Natalie Forster: Editorial Opinion
      • Guest Editorial
    • SPONSOR INSIGHTS
  • MEDIA
    • PODCASTS
    • VIDEOS
    • WEBINARS
  • RESOURCES
    • INDUSTRY CALENDAR
    • DIRECTORIES
    • EBOOKS
    • PM BOOKSTORE
    • CE CENTER
    • MARKET RESEARCH
    • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EMAGAZINE
    • EMAGAZINE
    • ARCHIVE ISSUES
    • CONTACT
    • ADVERTISE
    • PME EMAGAZINE ARCHIVES
  • SIGN UP!

Construction News: Construction Spending Soars to Record in September

By Ken Simonson
November 11, 2003
“Construction put in place showed amazing strength in September,” said Kenneth D. Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, the nation's leading construction trade association.

November 3, 2003

“Construction put in place showed amazing strength in September,” said Kenneth D. Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), the nation's leading construction trade association. “For a change, private nonresidential construction led the growth parade, while housing and public construction set monthly records.”

Simonson commented on the Census Bureau's release today of data on the value of construction put in place, which showed that the total amount spent on construction projects in September rose for the fourth month in a row, to a third straight record of $910 billion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate. That was 1.3% above the upwardly revised August total of $899 billion (initially estimated at $883 billion). The total for July was also revised upward, to $893 billion (from $881 billion). Seasonally adjusted spending in September was 6.5% higher than a year before; for the first nine months of 2003, spending totaled 3.1% more than in January-September 2002.

“Private nonresidential construction climbed 2.5% from August to September on a seasonally adjusted basis, reaching its highest level since April,” Simonson said. “A particularly encouraging element of this segment was manufacturing construction, which hit a 13-month high.

“Today's report from the Institute for Supply Management that new orders and production in manufacturing both grew for the sixth consecutive month offers hope that factory construction will continue to grow despite low capacity utilization estimates from the Federal Reserve.

“The 'healthiest' major nonresidential construction category remains health-care construction, which was up 3.7% for the month and 10% year-to-date,” Simonson noted.

“Private residential spending achieved a third consecutive record in September, rising 1.4% form August. Both August and July were revised up,” Simonson observed. “With mortgage rates now drifting down again after the brief upturn in the summer, I think housing construction will stay strong. Even multi-family construction, which I expected would slump, is up 3% through the first nine months of 2003 compared to the same period of 2002, while single-family construction has posted a 13% gain.

“Public construction set a record for the fourth straight month and rose for the sixth time in a row,” Simonson noted. “Although the September total was almost indistinguishable from August's upwardly revised figure, it is heartening that budget cuts haven't slowed public construction yet. The year-to-date total is 2.5% ahead of the total for the first nine months of 2002.

“One of the two largest public categories, highway and street spending, rose 0.9% for the month to its highest seasonally adjusted level since January,” Simonson commented. “AGC looks forward to the imminent introduction of a six-year highway reauthorization bill that will enable highway spending to keep growing.

“The other major public category, educational construction, was flat in September but has risen 2% so far this year,” Simonson added. “I still expect university-level construction to fade as trustees cut budgets, but through September, this subcategory is up 9.5% from January-September 2002, while primary and secondary school construction is off by 2.6%.”

Simonson concluded, “I think the strong September figures and upward revisions for July and August mean gross domestic product for the third quarter may have grown even more steeply than the 7.2% rate reported last week. Although I expect GDP and construction to slow in the fourth quarter, the great third-quarter figures give me hope that both public and private nonresidential construction will do better in 2004 than I had been predicting.”

Note: The new Census data are at www.census.gov/const/www/c30index.html.

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Chief Economist, Associated General Contractors of America 703-837-5313; fax -5406; www.agc.org

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Worker using the Milwaukee Tool SWITCH PACK drain cleaner

    Pipeline profits: Drain cleaning, pipe inspection create opportunities

    Drain cleaning and inspection services offer lucrative...
    Green Plumbing and Mechanical
    By: Nicole Krawcke
  • Uponor employee, Arturo Moreno

    The reinvestment in American manufacturing and training

    Plumbing & Mechanical Chief Editor Nicole Krawcke and...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke and Natalie Forster
  • March 2024 Women in Plumbing hero image of woman engineer overlayed by circle of hexagon shapes with numbers from 1 to 10

    Celebrating 10 Influential Women in the Plumbing Industry

    Celebrating Women's History Month and Women in...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke
Subscribe For Free!
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service
  • eMagazine
  • Manage My Preferences

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Plumbing & Mechanical audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of Plumbing & Mechanical or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • J.J. Keller CMV vehicles on road
    Sponsored byJ. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.

    The dash cam game-changer for small business safety

Popular Stories

Underfloor heating installation with drain sewer hole in bathroom close up on water floor heating.

Using hydronics to leverage time-of-use electrical rates

Watts Nexa mobile image

Behind the Wall: Where smart plumbing gets smarter

Six tankless water heaters that feed the nutraceutical manufacturer’s operations.

How to deliver large volumes of hot water quickly and intermittently

PMCE Home-X April 29 Free Webinar: From Legacy to Leadership: Preparing Your Home Services Business for the Next Generation

Events

November 13, 2024

Future Proofing MEP: Navigating the 2026 High Efficiency Water Heating Standards

Join our deep dive into DOE’s new standards so you can future-proof your MEP practice.

EARN: 0.1 ASPE CEU; 1 AIA LU/HSW; 0.1 IACET CEU*; 1 PDH

View All Submit An Event

Poll

Will business be up or down in 2025?

Do you anticipate business in 2025 to be up or down in comparison to 2024?
View Results Poll Archive

Products

The Water Came To A Stop

The Water Came To A Stop

See More Products

Download the FREE Water Conservation, Quality & Safety eBook: Plumbing Trends Increasing Safe Water Availability

Related Articles

  • Construction News
    Construction Spending Approaches Record in August Despite Nonresidential Slump

    See More
  • Construction jobs shrink in May, April construction spending rises

    See More
  • Dec. 5, 2007 ― Construction Spending Drops In October But Nonres Rises

    See More
×

Keep your content unclogged with our newsletters!

Stay in the know on the latest plumbing & piping industry trends.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
    • Supply House Times
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing