Construction Spending Sets Record in April

WASHINGTON D.C. ?EUR??,,????'??+ Construction spending jumped in April to a third consecutive record high, according to a Commerce Department report released Tuesday. The April 2004 figure is the best April ever recorded. According to the report, the value of buildings put in place rose by 1.3 percent in April from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $970.4 billion, the highest level on record. The strong showing comes on top of a red-hot March, when spending jumped by 2.4 percent - better than previously reported. That increase had pushed the value of all construction projects in March to $957.6 billion, which had been the previous all-time high. The strength in April was broad-based, with spending on residential buildings by private companies and spending on public works projects by state and local government each posting their best months on record. Private residential construction spending rose 1.2 percent to a record $520.73 billion rate from a revised $514.71 billion clip in March. Public construction climbed 1.7 percent to $230.47 billion, also a new high, from $226.58 billion. Private nonresidential construction rose for the third straight month to $219.19 billion, the highest level since March 2003, in a sign of growing business investment as the economy strengthens.