US construction spending fell 0.5% in July, missing expectations

• June's construction spending was revised to show no change, compared with the earlier reported decline of 0.1%.
• July's construction spending declined 0.5%, while economists had expected no change.

The US Census Bureau released the following details:

• In July, total construction spending dropped 0.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,157.6 billion, down from June's revised figure of $2,167.7 billion.
• Compared with July 2025, spending was 3.8% lower.
• Through July, year-to-date spending amounted to $1,244.6 billion, a 3.5% drop from the same period a year earlier.

Data on private construction spending for July showed:

• Private construction spending decreased 0.5%, reaching $1,614.2 billion.
• Residential private spending fell 1.3% to $859.0 billion, which was the main driver of the monthly decline.
• Nonresidential private spending increased 0.4% to $755.2 billion, partially countering the residential drop.

For public construction in July:

• Public construction spending edged down 0.2% to $543.4 billion.
• Educational public construction also fell 0.2%, totaling $112.3 billion.
• Highway public construction likewise declined 0.2%, to $150.3 billion.

The report was weaker overall, led by a downturn in residential construction. Private nonresidential spending provided a positive note, but spending stayed below year-ago levels for both July and the year-to-date period.