Construction Spending Falls 2.1% in January

Construction spending fell 2.1% in January, the Commerce Department said Friday.

The decrease brought outlays to $883.3 billion and followed a 1.1% increase in December that was larger than previously estimated, Commerce said.

Economists had forecast a 0.4% increase, Bloomberg News reported.

Private construction spending fell 2.6%, spending on single-family homes rose 3.6% and multifamily housing spending rose 1.7%.

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