"Kaleidoscope" Instead of a "Snapshot" in Today's Data Shows Great Variety in Construction, AGC Economist Says.
"The variety of data released today provides a kaleidoscopic view of construction rather than the usual snapshot," said Kenneth D. Simonson, Chief Economist for Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), the nation's leading construction trade association. "The overall picture is bright for the moment, with a brilliant housing sector, darkness on the private nonresidential side, and fuzziness in the public sector."
Simonson was assessing data this morning from the Census Bureau on the value of construction put in place in September, along with the October employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), personal consumption from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), and the Institute for Supply Management (ISM)'s manufacturing indexes.