FOR RELEASE 10:00 AM EDT, TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2003 MAY 2003 CONSTRUCTION AT $869.8 BILLION ANNUAL RATE Construction put in place during May 2003 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $869.8 billion, 1.7 (+/-4.7) percent below the revised April estimate of $885.0 billion, according to the U.S. Commerce Department's Census Bureau. The May figure is 1.1 (+/-4.9) percent above May 2002. During the first 5 months of this year $330.9 billion of construction was put in place, 1.6 (+/-3.3) percent above the $325.6 billion for the same period in 2002. In constant (1996) dollars, the May annual rate was $689.6 billion, 1.8 (+/-4.7) percent below the revised estimate of $702.6 billion for April. PRIVATE CONSTRUCTION Spending on new residential housing units was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $322.1 billion in May, 0.7 (+/-1.6) percent below the revised April estimate of $324.5 billion. Nonresidential building construction was at a rate of $157.0 billion, 0.4 (+/-3.2) percent below the revised April estimate of $157.6 billion. PUBLIC CONSTRUCTION In May, the estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction put in place was $207.2 billion, 1.8 (+/-4.7) percent below the revised April estimate of $211.1 billion. June 2003 data will be released on August 1, 2003 at 10:00 AM EDT. Questions regarding these data may be directed to Mike Davis or Joe Huesman, Construction Expenditures Branch, Manufacturing and Construction Division, telephone (301) 763-1605. EXPLANATORY NOTES In interpreting changes in the statistics in this release, note that month-to-month changes in seasonally adjusted statistics often show movements which may be irregular. It may take 2 months to establish an underlying trend for total construction and as long as 8 months for specific categories of construction. The statistics in this release are estimated from several sources and surveys and are subject to sampling variability as well as nonsampling errors including bias and variance from response, nonreporting, and undercoverage. Estimates of the standard errors are provided in Table 4 for selected types of construction. Whenever a statement such as "2.3 (+/-3.1) percent above" appears in the text, this indicates the range (-0.8 to +5.4 percent) in which the actual percent change is likely to have occurred. All ranges given are 90 percent confidence intervals. If the range contains zero, it is uncertain whether there was an increase or decrease; that is, the change was not statistically significant. For any comparison cited without a confidence interval, the change is statistically significant. Statistics for the current month are preliminary estimates subject to revision in following months as additional data become available. The average absolute percent changes from preliminary estimate to first revision for the major seasonally adjusted components are as follows: total construction, 0.7 percent; private construction, 0.7 percent; private residential construction, 0.9 percent; private nonresidential construction, 1.4 percent; and public construction, 1.6 percent. More detailed data will appear in Current Construction Reports, C30/03-5, to be issued later this month. A discussion of sources and reliability of the data appears in Current Construction Reports, C30/03-5. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE 1. VALUE OF CONSTRUCTION PUT IN PLACE IN THE UNITED STATES, SEASONALLY ADJUSTED ANNUAL RATE (BILLIONS OF DOLLARS) Type of construction May(p) Apr(r) Mar(r) Feb(r) Jan(r) May(r) 2003 2003 2003 2003 2003 2002 Current dollars Total construction........ 869.8 885.0 890.8 899.5 899.3 860.6 Private construction(1)......... 662.6 673.9 680.8 680.3 678.1 648.0 Residential buildings(2)...... 445.4 449.5 454.0 461.2 456.3 417.2 New housing units........... 322.1 324.5 326.6 330.4 328.6 296.9 1 unit ................... 287.8 290.4 293.1 295.6 293.5 263.5 2 units or more........... 34.4 34.1 33.4 34.8 35.1 33.4 Nonresidential buildings...... 157.0 157.6 159.5 158.4 159.8 170.8 Industrial.................. 13.3 13.3 14.2 13.5 14.0 17.5 Office...................... 32.2 32.5 34.0 33.6 34.0 37.7 Hotels, motels.............. 10.7 10.4 10.2 9.9 9.8 11.3 Other commercial............ 54.2 54.1 54.3 54.2 55.7 56.6 Religious................... 8.5 8.4 8.3 8.4 8.4 8.7 Educational................. 12.4 13.1 12.7 12.6 12.9 13.3 Hospital and institutional.. 18.7 18.6 18.3 18.4 17.7 17.1 Miscellaneous buildings..... 7.0 7.2 7.4 7.6 7.3 8.5 Telecommunications............ (NA) 15.6 15.5 15.1 15.1 18.1 All other private............. 2.2 2.3 2.3 1.9 2.3 2.4 Public construction............. 207.2 211.1 210.0 219.2 221.2 212.6 Housing and redevelopment..... 5.6 5.8 5.7 6.0 6.1 5.2 Industrial.................... 2.5 1.9 1.9 1.8 2.2 2.1 Educational................... 55.6 55.9 56.9 55.5 58.0 58.5 Hospital...................... 5.5 5.1 5.4 5.7 4.9 4.6 Other public buildings........ 32.1 32.7 32.7 33.7 33.9 33.3 Highways and streets.......... 56.6 59.2 60.0 65.5 65.4 58.9 Military facilities........... 3.3 3.1 2.8 3.2 3.2 3.1 Conservation and development.. 8.7 8.6 8.0 8.2 8.1 7.5 Sewer systems................. 11.1 11.0 10.5 11.3 11.1 11.5 Water supply facilities....... 8.4 8.6 9.0 9.7 9.4 8.9 Miscellaneous public.......... 17.9 19.3 17.1 18.5 19.0 19.1 1996 dollars Total construction........ 689.6 702.6 707.0 715.4 717.4 704.3 Private construction(1)......... 523.0 532.0 537.3 538.0 538.2 528.7 Residential buildings(2)...... 346.9 349.3 352.5 359.5 357.3 336.7 New housing units........... 250.9 252.1 253.5 257.5 257.3 239.6 1 unit ................... 224.1 225.6 227.6 230.4 229.8 212.7 2 units or more........... 26.8 26.5 26.0 27.1 27.5 26.9 Nonresidential buildings...... 125.0 125.7 127.3 126.5 127.8 139.2 Industrial.................. 10.6 10.6 11.4 10.8 11.2 14.3 Office...................... 25.7 25.9 27.2 26.9 27.2 30.8 Hotels, motels.............. 8.5 8.3 8.1 7.9 7.8 9.2 Other commercial............ 43.2 43.1 43.4 43.3 44.6 46.2 Religious................... 6.8 6.7 6.6 6.7 6.7 7.1 Educational................. 9.9 10.4 10.2 10.1 10.3 10.8 Hospital and institutional.. 14.9 14.9 14.6 14.7 14.1 13.9 Miscellaneous buildings..... 5.5 5.8 5.9 6.1 5.9 7.0 Telecommunications............ (NA) 14.3 14.2 13.8 13.8 16.9 All other private............. 1.8 1.9 1.9 1.6 1.9 2.0 Public construction............. 166.6 170.5 169.6 177.4 179.1 175.5 Housing and redevelopment..... 4.3 4.5 4.4 4.6 4.7 4.2 Industrial.................... 2.0 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.8 1.7 Educational................... 44.3 44.6 45.4 44.4 46.4 47.7 Hospital...................... 4.4 4.1 4.3 4.5 4.0 3.8 Other public buildings........ 25.6 26.1 26.1 26.9 27.1 27.1 Highways and streets.......... 45.2 47.7 48.3 52.9 52.9 48.2 Military facilities........... 2.7 2.5 2.3 2.6 2.6 2.5 Conservation and development.. 7.3 7.3 6.8 7.0 6.9 6.6 Sewer systems................. 9.4 9.3 9.0 9.6 9.5 10.1 Water supply facilities....... 6.8 7.0 7.4 7.9 7.6 7.4 Miscellaneous public.......... 14.7 16.0 14.2 15.4 15.7 16.2 (NA) Not available. (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (1) Includes the following categories of private construction not shown separately: residential improvements, railroads, electric light and power, gas, petroleum pipelines, and farm nonresidential. (2) Includes improvements. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE 2. VALUE OF CONSTRUCTION PUT IN PLACE IN THE UNITED STATES, NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED IN CURRENT DOLLARS (BILLIONS OF DOLLARS) Type of construction May(p) Apr(r) Mar(r) Feb(r) Jan(r) May(r) 2003 2003 2003 2003 2003 2002 Total construction........ 74.7 70.6 65.7 58.5 61.3 74.4 Private construction(1)......... 57.3 54.5 51.6 44.9 47.1 56.4 Residential buildings(2)...... 39.0 36.4 33.9 28.9 31.1 36.9 New housing units........... 27.7 26.4 25.3 21.8 22.8 25.6 1 unit ................... 24.7 23.6 22.6 19.2 20.2 22.7 2 units or more........... 3.0 2.9 2.7 2.6 2.7 2.9 Nonresidential buildings...... 13.3 12.9 12.6 11.8 11.9 14.5 Industrial.................. 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.5 Office...................... 2.8 2.7 2.8 2.6 2.6 3.3 Hotels, motels.............. 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.8 1.0 Other commercial............ 4.6 4.3 4.2 3.9 3.9 4.8 Religious................... 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 Educational................. 1.1 1.0 1.0 0.9 0.9 1.2 Hospital and institutional.. 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.4 Miscellaneous buildings..... 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.7 Telecommunications............ (NA) 1.3 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.5 All other private............. 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.2 Public construction............. 17.4 16.2 14.2 13.6 14.2 18.0 Housing and redevelopment..... 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.4 Industrial.................... 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.2 Educational................... 4.5 4.3 4.0 3.8 4.0 4.7 Hospital...................... 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 Other public buildings........ 2.7 2.7 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.8 Highways and streets.......... 4.9 4.0 3.1 2.9 3.2 5.2 Military facilities........... 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 Conservation and development.. 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 Sewer systems................. 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.8 1.0 Water supply facilities....... 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.8 Miscellaneous public.......... 1.5 1.5 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.6 (NA) Not available. (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (1) Includes the following categories of private construction not shown separately: residential improvements, railroads, electric light and power, gas, petroleum pipelines, and farm nonresidential. (2) Includes improvements. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE 3. U.S. CENSUS BUREAU COMPOSITE FIXED-WEIGHTED (1996 WEIGHTS) PRICE INDEX AND IMPLICIT PRICE DEFLATOR (1996=100) FIXED-WEIGHTED INDEX IMPLICIT PRICE DEFLATOR 2000(r) 2001(r) 2002(r) 2003 2000(r) 2001(r) 2002(r) 2003 Jan 113.3 117.9 122.1 (r)125.3 113.3 117.9 121.8 (r)125.4 Feb 113.7 118.4 122.3 (r)125.6 113.8 118.4 121.9 (r)125.7 Mar 114.0 118.8 122.0 (r)125.9 113.9 118.6 121.8 (r)126.0 Apr 114.5 118.9 121.9 (r)125.9 114.5 118.7 122.0 (r)126.0 May 114.8 119.3 122.1 (p)126.1 114.9 119.1 122.2 (p)126.2 Jun 115.1 120.0 122.6 115.1 120.0 122.7 Jul 115.6 120.3 122.5 115.6 120.4 122.6 Aug 115.8 121.0 122.4 115.7 121.2 122.5 Sep 116.2 121.3 123.0 116.0 121.4 122.8 Oct 116.5 122.0 123.5 116.3 122.0 123.3 Nov 116.8 122.2 123.8 116.7 121.9 123.7 Dec 117.3 122.3 124.4 117.1 121.9 124.1 Annual 115.3 120.2 122.7 115.3 120.2 122.6 (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE 4. RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS AND COEFFICIENTS FOR STANDARD ERRORS OF CHANGES Relative standard error(%) Coefficient for Monthly Annual month-to-month Type of construction estimate estimate change (k) Total construction... 2 1 .03 Private construction........... 3 1 .04 Residential buildings........ 5 2 .06 New housing units.......... 2 1 .01 1 unit................... 2 2 .01 2 units or more.......... 4 3 .03 Nonresidential buildings..... 2 1 .02 Industrial................. 3 2 .04 Office..................... 4 2 .05 Hotels, motels............. 7 5 .09 Other commercial........... 5 2 .06 Religious.................. 9 5 .12 Educational................ 7 5 .10 Hospital and institutional. 6 5 .07 Miscellaneous buildings.... 7 4 .09 Public construction............ 2 1 .03 Housing and redevelopment.... 8 4 .11 Industrial................... (NA) (NA) (NA) Educational.................. 3 2 .04 Hospital..................... 6 4 .08 Other public buildings....... 3 2 .04 Highways and streets......... 4 2 .05 Military facilities.......... (NA) (NA) (NA) Conservation and development. 4 2 .06 Sewer systems................ 6 3 .08 Water supply facilities...... 8 3 .11 Miscellaneous public......... 8 4 .11 (NA) Not available. Note: All statistics are based upon 2000 data. The coefficient (k) for the month-to-month change is applicable to change from the previous month and change from the same month a year ago. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE 5. ANNUAL VALUE OF CONSTRUCTION PUT IN PLACE IN THE UNITED STATES 2000 - 2002 (Millions of dollars) Current dollars Constant (1996) dollars Type of construction 2002(r) 2001(r) 2000(r) 2002(r) 2001(r) 2000(r) Total construction..... 860,923 852,553 828,768 701,943 709,233 718,708 Private construction....... 650,495 652,496 642,633 528,844 541,110 557,186 Residential buildings.... 421,521 388,324 374,457 338,852 318,803 323,977 New housing units...... 298,450 279,391 265,047 239,908 229,426 229,324 1 unit............... 265,889 249,086 236,788 213,727 204,522 204,867 2 units or more...... 32,561 30,305 28,259 26,182 24,903 24,457 Improvements........... 123,071 108,933 109,410 98,944 89,377 94,653 Nonresidential buildings. 167,084 202,334 208,241 135,764 166,852 178,074 Industrial............ 16,580 29,521 31,801 13,475 24,358 27,194 Office................ 37,578 52,260 55,605 30,536 43,126 47,534 Hotels, motels........ 10,285 14,490 16,293 8,359 11,950 13,944 Other commercial...... 55,879 60,760 60,381 45,404 50,077 51,635 Religious............. 8,217 8,385 8,019 6,676 6,908 6,858 Educational........... 12,841 12,591 11,375 10,434 10,371 9,726 Hospital.............. 17,434 14,910 14,434 14,161 12,295 12,342 Miscellaneous......... 8,269 9,418 10,332 6,719 7,766 8,842 Farm nonresidential...... 5,040 5,135 5,988 4,095 4,230 5,116 Public utilities......... 54,370 53,849 50,994 48,036 48,752 47,400 Telecommunications..... 18,024 19,569 18,799 16,757 18,473 18,255 Other public utilities. 36,346 34,280 32,195 31,280 30,280 29,145 Railroads............ 4,864 4,456 4,263 4,108 3,861 3,782 Electric............. 24,789 23,803 22,038 21,396 21,120 20,090 Gas.................. 5,500 5,078 4,891 4,747 4,468 4,377 Petroleum pipelines.. 1,193 943 1,003 1,029 830 897 All other private........ 2,481 2,853 2,954 2,096 2,473 2,619 Public construction........ 210,428 200,057 186,135 173,099 168,123 161,523 Buildings................ 102,071 94,407 90,005 82,876 77,774 77,003 Housing and redevelop.. 5,507 5,096 4,927 4,427 4,186 4,263 Industrial............. 1,906 1,556 1,158 1,548 1,282 991 Educational............ 56,154 50,035 45,643 45,623 41,207 39,023 Hospital............... 4,932 4,243 4,785 4,006 3,497 4,092 Other.................. 33,572 33,477 33,494 27,273 27,602 28,635 Highways and streets..... 59,613 58,942 52,992 48,677 49,549 45,992 Military facilities...... 2,923 2,842 2,441 2,382 2,365 2,105 Conservation and dev. 7,937 7,269 6,381 6,938 6,503 5,779 Sewer systems............ 11,072 10,339 10,332 9,676 9,249 9,363 Water supply facilities.. 8,528 8,358 7,028 7,107 7,173 6,247 Miscellaneous nonbuilding 18,284 17,899 16,955 15,443 15,511 15,033 (r) Revised. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE 6. ANNUAL VALUE OF PUBLIC CONSTRUCTION PUT IN PLACE IN THE UNITED STATES: 2000 - 2002 (Millions of dollars) Current dollars Constant (1996) dollars Type of construction 2002(r) 2001(r) 2000(r) 2002(r) 2001(r) 2000(r) Total public construction 210,428 200,057 186,135 173,099 168,123 161,523 State and local const...... 194,115 184,976 171,969 159,431 155,252 149,106 Total buildings.......... 96,699 89,197 84,847 78,516 73,480 72,587 Housing and redevelop.. 4,995 4,675 4,544 4,015 3,840 3,932 Educational............ 56,110 50,001 45,613 45,587 41,178 38,998 Hospital............... 4,139 3,579 4,062 3,362 2,950 3,473 Other.................. 31,455 30,942 30,627 25,552 25,511 26,183 Highways and streets..... 59,242 58,545 52,656 48,374 49,216 45,700 Conservation and develop. 2,409 2,582 2,320 2,108 2,311 2,101 Sewer systems............ 11,072 10,339 10,332 9,676 9,249 9,363 Water supply facilities.. 8,528 8,358 7,028 7,107 7,173 6,247 Miscellaneous nonbuilding 16,164 15,953 14,787 13,650 13,824 13,108 Federal construction....... 16,313 15,081 14,166 13,668 12,871 12,417 Total buildings.......... 5,372 5,210 5,159 4,360 4,294 4,417 Housing................ 512 421 382 412 345 331 Industrial............. 1,906 1,556 1,158 1,548 1,282 991 Educational............ 44 35 29 36 29 25 Hospital............... 793 664 722 644 547 618 Other.................. 2,118 2,535 2,867 1,721 2,091 2,452 Highways and streets..... 371 397 336 303 334 292 Military facilities...... 2,923 2,842 2,441 2,382 2,365 2,105 Conservation and develop. 5,528 4,686 4,061 4,830 4,192 3,679 Miscellaneous nonbuilding 2,119 1,945 2,169 1,793 1,686 1,925 (r) Revised. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE 7. MONTHLY VALUE OF CONSTRUCTION PUT IN PLACE IN THE UNITED STATES--NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED AND SEASONALLY ADJUSTED ANNUAL RATE (Millions of dollars) Current dollars Month Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted annual rate 2003 2002(r) 2001(r) 2000(r) 2003 2002(r) 2001(r) 2000(r) Jan... (r)61,311 59,631 58,227 55,785 (r)899,300 871,052 841,259 819,629 Feb... (r)58,510 57,773 56,100 55,246 (r)899,510 884,328 849,842 831,894 March. (r)65,738 64,136 63,912 63,319 (r)890,777 864,662 852,375 841,964 April. (r)70,632 69,637 68,523 66,089 (r)885,040 875,342 864,876 836,489 May... (p)74,746 74,424 74,380 71,656 (p)869,841 860,618 857,927 827,600 June.. 77,799 79,021 74,998 851,384 866,921 820,247 July.. 79,790 79,668 74,255 856,653 862,027 809,891 August 80,474 81,022 78,853 842,693 849,827 826,847 Sep... 79,378 78,206 78,182 843,234 840,700 837,149 Oct... 78,219 77,046 76,281 849,484 837,739 835,954 Nov... 74,423 72,591 71,712 869,143 845,377 833,863 Dec... 65,238 63,856 62,391 879,383 858,664 836,079 Constant (1996) dollars Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted annual rate 2003 2002(r) 2001(r) 2000(r) 2003 2002(r) 2001(r) 2000(r) Jan... (r)48,897 48,960 49,386 49,229 (r)717,399 715,522 713,794 723,982 Feb... (r)46,562 47,376 47,380 48,564 (r)715,448 724,914 717,704 731,562 March. (r)52,160 52,637 53,892 55,605 (r)706,971 709,775 718,618 739,475 April. (r)56,049 57,102 57,741 57,698 (r)702,559 717,924 728,971 730,464 May... (p)59,236 60,889 62,433 62,365 (p)689,614 704,258 720,242 720,271 June.. 63,407 65,839 65,147 694,257 722,377 712,481 July.. 65,095 66,166 64,244 699,018 715,906 700,730 August 65,697 66,874 68,166 688,109 701,055 714,662 Sep... 64,618 64,421 67,383 686,565 692,395 721,552 Oct... 63,419 63,164 65,575 688,767 686,677 718,631 Nov... 60,181 59,544 61,463 702,822 693,279 714,564 Dec... 52,563 52,393 53,269 707,682 703,784 713,475 (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. Questions regarding these data may be directed to Mike Davis, Construction Expenditures Branch, Telephone 301-763-1605. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------