Construction Spending Rises in November

Construction spending rose 1.2% in November, the third increase in four months, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

The increase followed a 0.2% dip in October that was originally reported as a 0.8% increase, Commerce said.

The November upturn was larger than economists’ forecasts of a 0.5% increase, Bloomberg reported.

Private construction spending climbed 1% to $522 billion, the highest level since December 2009, while homebuilding spending gained 2%.

Public construction spending rose 1.7%. Federal construction spending jumped 5.3%, the largest gain since August, to $27.6 billion.

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