Ken Simonson

1 week ago | constructioncitizen.com | Ken Simonson

The value of construction starts, not seasonally adjusted, soared 13% year-over-year (y/y) in May but was down 0.4% year-to-date (YTD) in the first five months of 2025 compared to January-May 2024, ConstructConnect reported on Thursday. Nonresidential building starts climbed 36% y/y and 6.6% YTD, with commercial down 1.8% YTD, institutional down 3.6%, but industrial (manufacturing) up 54%.

2 weeks ago | constructioncitizen.com | Ken Simonson

Input prices for new nonresidential construction rose 0.4% in May, not seasonally adjusted (NSA), and 2.2% year-over-year (y/y), according to producer price index (PPI) data the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) posted on Thursday. The y/y change was the largest since February 2023. A major contributor to the pickup was the PPIs for steel mill products, which soared 7.1% in May and 8.8% y/y. The index for aluminum mill shapes also climbed 8.8% y/y, despite declining 3.6% for the month.

2 weeks ago | constructioncitizen.com | Ken Simonson

Construction employment, seasonally adjusted, totaled 8,314,000 in May, a gain of 4,000 from April and 126,000 (1.5%) year-over-year (y/y), according to AGC’s analysis of data BLS posted today. Nonresidential construction employment (at building, specialty trade, and heavy and civil engineering construction firms) increased by 11,300 for the month and 126,500 (2.6%) y/y, slightly below the 160,000 (3.4%) gain a year earlier.

3 weeks ago | constructioncitizen.com | Ken Simonson

Construction spending (not adjusted for inflation) fell for the third month in a row in April to $2.15 trillion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, down 0.4% from March and 0.5% year-over-year (y/y), the Census Bureau reported today. The y/y decrease was the first since 2019. Private residential construction fell 0.9% for the month and 4.8% y/y, with single-family homebuilding down 1.1% for the month, multifamily construction down 0.1%, and owner-occupied improvements down 0.8%.

1 month ago | constructioncitizen.com | Ken Simonson

President Trump on Thursday announced a trade agreement with the United Kingdom that would remove the 25% tariff on steel and aluminum from the U.K., the first sign of tariff relief for construction inputs. The U.K. accounted for roughly 1% of U.S. steel imports (0.3% of consumption) in 2024 and a negligible share of aluminum. It remains to be seen if the agreement will lead to greater imports from the U.K. or a reduction in steel and aluminum tariffs for other countries.