Construction Spending Falls 0.2% in July

U.S. construction spending slipped 0.2% in July, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

The decline followed a revised 0.1% gain in June. Spending was forecast to remain unchanged from June, Bloomberg reported.

Total non-residential construction fell 1%, led by an 8.3% downturn in lodging.

Private residential construction was 28% below the same time last year, but homebuilding was showing some signs of stabilization, Bloomberg said.

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