US construction spending stayed essentially flat in January, Kallanish learns from the Associated General Contractors of America.

January’s spending reached $1.263 trillion, flat from December but up 3.2% from January 2017.

Those year-on-year gains, however, are threatened by potential raw material cost increases stemming from President Donald Trump’s new tariffs on steel and aluminium (see related story).

"Construction spending in January showed a mixed pattern, with noteworthy increases in public outlays and single-family homebuilding balancing out declines in private nonresidential and multifamily investments," says association chief economist Ken Simonson. "However, many projects are vulnerable to steep increases in materials costs. Already, prices have jumped for lumber, steel and aluminum. Potential double-digit tariffs or import restrictions on steel and aluminum could wreck the budgets for numerous infrastructure projects and private nonresidential investments. In addition, any countermeasures taken by US trading partners that are affected by these measures would harm US exporters, transportation and logistics businesses, and ports, which would reduce demand for a variety of construction categories."