Construction Spending Flat in November 2013

According to the Census Bureau, the value of construction put in place in November 2013 was $77,965 (millions of real dollars). That means spending was unchanged from last November. This is the first time that the month-over-month rate of change has not grown since December 2011. The annual rate of change has been growing more slowly since December 2012.

Real construction spending is linked very closely to real consumer spending. With consumer spending growing more slowly for almost two years one would expect real construction spending to grow more slowly in 2014.

Real construction spending is a good leading indicator for construction materials, hardware, and HVAC industrial production.