Construction Spending Falls in February

Construction spending dropped 1.1% in February, the largest decline in seven months, the Commerce Department said Monday.

The decrease followed a revised 0.8% downturn in January that was larger than originally reported, Commerce said.

Economists had forecast a 0.6% gain in February, Bloomberg reported.

Private construction spending was unchanged, while homebuilding spending gained 1.2%.

Public construction spending fell 1.7%, but federal construction spending climbed 1.9%.

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