Highlights
Construction expenditures rose 0.8 percent in February after increasing 0.4 percent in January and 1.9 percent in December. Total private spending was up 1.2 percent, although public construction expenditures fell 0.5 percent during the month. Residential construction spending rose 1.3 percent in February, much stronger than the 0.1 percent gain posted in January and are up 7.1 percent from year ago levels. In contrast, nonresidential investment spending increased 0.8 percent in January, after a 1.2 percent rise in January and now stands 9.6 percent above year ago figures. While construction spending on commercial buildings fell 2.1 percent in February, this was 11.2 percent higher than a year ago; similarly manufacturing plants saw a 3.3 percent drop in February, but were up 15.4 percent from year ago levels. Office construction building did rise in February, up 1.5 percent -- and were up a whopping 16.1 percent relative to a year ago.

The construction spending figures were somewhat stronger than expected by market players, but this will likely not get a lot of attention by investors who are focusing on March's ISM manufacturing report today (which was down from February levels and slightly weaker than expected.)

2006 Release Schedule

Released On: 1/3 2/1 3/1 4/3 5/1 6/1 7/3 8/1 9/1 10/2 11/1 12/1 Released For: Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct