Construction spending continues its modest decline but nonresidential hangs in there

The Construction Spending report for February showed another overall modest decline in construction spending, but did show a modest gain in nonresidential construction spending. Although nonresidential is not strong enough to completely counter the profound weakness in residential construction spending, it is still a bright spot that is one of the factors keeping the economy from sinking into an outright recession.

There are eight tall tower cranes visible from my apartment window and two others nearby. One of them appears to be almost ready to be dismantled, but there are several new building sites nearby that are simply waiting for equipment and construction crews to become available to start construction. This is in downtown Bellevue, WA.

-- Jack Krupansky