Small Flickers of Light May Be Pushing Through Dark Clouds Over Construction Industry

The U.S. Department of Commerce released a report today indicating non-residential construction spending increased in the U.S. by 0.9% in November. Residential spending rose by 1.8% nationally in November.

Though the news was generally good, according to the Associated Builders and Contractors, there are still reasons not to jump for joy just yet. One is that weather in November was more conducive to construction activity, which may have unnaturally boosted the numbers. There are others as well.

“Despite the recent momentum in nonresidential construction spending, there remain plenty of reasons for concern,” said [ABC Chief Economist Anirban] Basu. “Lending conditions continue to be disciplined and state and local government budgets remain stressed – not a good combination to push the nonresidential construction industry out of the doldrums.”

Of course, Nevada's construction industry continues to suffer more than most and recovery has been extremely slow compared to the rest of the country. That may not change for some time.