Construction spending remained flat in January, kicking off the year with a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,262.8. This is nearly identical to December’s estimate which has been revised up from $1,253.3 billion to $1,262.7 billion. November’s estimate of $1,245.1 billion has been revised back up to $1,252.1 billion. Construction spending for January 2018 was 3.2% higher year-over-year compared to the $1,223.5 billion estimate from January 2017.

January’s $1,262.8 billion is another record high for the seasonally adjusted annual rate for construction spending. Total construction put in place (CPIP) for January was $86.8 billion, a 3.7% increase over January 2017 CPIP which was $83.8 billion.

Total nonresidential construction spending was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $732.9 billion, down 0.1% from December’s revised estimate of $733.9 billion. Total residential construction was at an estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of $529.9 billion in January 2018. This is up 0.2% over December’s revised estimate of $528.8 billion.

Total private construction spending in January 2018 dropped 0.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $962.7 billion. December’s estimate has been revised up from $963.2 billion to $967.9 billion.

January’s estimate for private nonresidential construction spending was at a seasonally annual adjusted rate of $439.6 billion, a 1.5% drop from December’s revised estimate of $446.2 billion. Private residential construction spending was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $523.2 billion in January. This is a 0.3% increase from December’s revised estimate of $521.8 billion.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate for public construction spending was $300.1 billion in January. This a 1.8% increase over December’s estimate which was revised down from $290.0 billion to $287.8 billion. The January 2018 estimate for public spending is 8.2% above the January 2017 estimate of $277.2 billion. Hopefully, we will see public construction spending growth this year after seeing it decline in 2017.