The producer price index for inputs to construction industries - a
weighted average of the price of all goods used in every type of construction,
plus items consumed by contractors, such as diesel fuel - was flat for September
but up 8.1 percent over the September 2010 level.
The pickup for total construction in August was
the result of greater activity for each of construction’s three main sectors - nonresidential
building [7 percent], residential building [4 percent] and nonbuilding
construction [13 percent]. For the first eight months of 2011, total
construction on an unadjusted basis was down 6 percent from the same period a
year ago.
"Reports from the 12 Federal Reserve districts indicated that economic
activity continued to expand at a modest pace, though some districts noted
mixed or weakening activity," the Fed reported.
Construction spending totaled $772 billion at a
seasonally adjusted annual rate in June, up 0.2 percent from the rate in May
but down 4.7 percent from June 2010, the Census Bureau reported Aug. 1.
Construction spending in May totaled $753 billion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, the sixth consecutive monthly decrease and the lowest figure since 1999, the Census Bureau reported July 1.
The
PPI for inputs to construction industries - a blend of all materials used in
every type of construction, plus items consumed by contractors such as diesel
fuel - rose 1.4 percent and 7.1 percent, respectively.
Construction employment
rose by 33,000, the largest gain in nearly four years, but much
of the increase may have represented catch-up from a weather-exacerbated drop
of 22,000 jobs in January.
Construction
employment fell by 53,500 (-0.9 percent), accounting for more than 60 percent
of total losses for December 2009, and by 934,000 (14 percent) for the year.