Construction Spending Rises in March

Construction spending edged up 0.1% in March, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

The increase followed a revised 1.4% drop in February that was larger than originally reported, Commerce said.

Economists had forecast a 0.5% gain in March, Bloomberg reported.

Private construction spending rose 0.7%, the largest gain this year, while homebuilding spending also gained 0.7%.

Public construction spending fell 1.1%, the fourth straight decrease. State and local government construction spending declined 1.6% to the lowest level since November 2006, but federal construction spending climbed 3.8%.

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