
Construction spending during February rose 1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,320.3 billion, which translates into $1.32 trillion, the Commerce Department reported Monday. The February figure is 1.1% above the February 2018 estimate of $1,305.5 billion.
Analysts were expecting a sequential decline of 0.1%. It was a nine-month high.
During the first two months of this year, construction spending amounted to $181.9 billion, 1.4% above the $179.4 billion for the same period in 2018.
Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $994.5 billion, 0.2% above the revised January estimate of $993.0 billion. Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $540.9 billion in February, 0.7% above the revised January estimate of $536.9 billion.
Nonresidential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $453.6 billion in February, 0.5% below the revised January estimate of $456.0 billion.
The estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction spending was $325.8 billion, 3.6% above the revised January estimate of $314.4 billion. Educational construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $76.3 billion, 0.8% above the revised January estimate of $75.7 billion. Highway construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $111.1 billion, 9.5% above the revised January estimate of $101.5 billion.
