Ontario Construction News staff writer
Construction spending in the U.S. rose to a record high in November, boosted by a robust housing market and historically low mortgage rates, which could help blunt some of the hit on the economy from raging COVID-19 infections.
The Commerce Department said on Monday that construction spending increased 0.9 per cent to $1.46 trillion – the highest since tracking began in 2002. Data for October was also revised higher to show construction spending accelerating 1.6 per cents instead of the 1.3 per cent increase previously reported.
Strong construction spending supports economists’ predictions that the economy grew at around a 5 per cent annualized rate in the fourth quarter, the commerce department concluded, adding that a sharp drop from a record 33.4 per cent pace in the third quarter reflects a resurgence in coronavirus cases, which has impacted the services sector.
Growth is also slowing following the end of more than $3 trillion US dollars in government pandemic relief and delays in approving another rescue package. About $900 billion in fiscal stimulus was approved in late December.
Construction spending accounts for about 5 per cent of gross domestic product in the U.S.