Further rise in US construction

Construction put in place in the US was up +14.1% for the 12 months to the end of September, to US$ 1.09 trillion, according to the US Census Bureau.

Residential construction for the rolling 12-month period increased +17.2% to US$ 401 billion. Meanwhile the value of non-residential construction was up +12.4% to US$ 693 billion.

Within the residential segment, which is more than 98% privately funded, the multi-family segment rose +26.7% to US$ 56.7 billion. However, this only constitutes a small proportion of the market, which is largely dominated by the single family segment, which rose +12.7% to US$ 222 billion.

Across the non-residential segment, all sectors grew other than commercial, which fell -3.1% to US$ 62.9 billion. Amusement and recreation saw the biggest increase at +48.6% to US$ 11.1 billion. Other major growth came in the office and manufacturing segments.

Most of the growth came in the private segment, which rose +16% to US$ 794 billion from the same period last year. The public segment grew +9.4% to US$ 300 billion over the same period.

Although the continued surge in US construction activity was welcomed by the industry, it has also prompted concerns over skills shortages. Ken Simonson, chief economist at the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) trade association said, “Overall demand for construction continues to grow at a very robust rate. It appears, however, that many firms performing private non-residential work could not find enough qualified workers in September to keep pace with growing demand."