Construction Spending Declines 0.3%

Construction spending fell 0.3% in June, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

The downturn was the first since January and followed a 1.1% rise in May that was higher than the originally reported.

The drop was in contract to economists’ forecasts of a 0.2% increase, Bloomberg reported.

Private residential construction spending fell 0.7%, a 16th straight decline. Non-residential construction including public projects rose 0.1%.

Construction spending can boost demand for trucking services because spending increases the number of shipments of goods and building materials.