Recovery Act Helped Produce Small Boost in June

 

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Construction spending eked out a small rise in June as gains in Recovery Act-aided public categories offset decreases in homebuilding and private nonresidential spending, according to Associated General Contractors of America.

Total construction spending inched up 0.1 percent last month at a seasonally adjusted annual rate compared to June 2009, buoyed by a 1.5 percent increase in public construction. That offset declines of 0.8 percent in private residential and 0.5 percent in private nonresidential construction spending. This would be a good time to look for public works projects such as schools and municipalities.

Stephen Sandherr, AGCAs CEO, called on Congress and the White House to quickly enact legislation to provide long-term funding for public infrastructure spending and certainty for private construction.

“It is deplorable that the airport trust fund is now on its 14th short-term extension,” Sandherr said. “The highway and transit trust fund is in danger of shutting down on Dec. 31. There is no trust fund to sustain vitally needed water infrastructure upgrades. Meanwhile, uncertainty over the future of major tax provisions and new financial rules are keeping investors on the sidelines, further depressing private construction.”

– Courtesy of AASHTO