Construction Spending Drops in August

Construction spending fell in August, the Commerce Department said Monday.

The 0.6% drop was the biggest decrease since July 2011, and followed a revised 0.4% decrease in July, that was smaller than previously estimated, Commerce said.

Economists had forecast a 0.5% increase, Bloomberg reported.

Private non-residential construction spending decreased 1.7%, while homebuilding outlays rose 0.9%.

Public construction dropped 0.8% from the prior month.

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