Associated General Contractors of America analysednew Census Bureau data and urged lawmakers in Washington to make infrastructure investment a top federal priority before funding runs out at the end of September.
鈥淭he patterns seen earlier this year reappeared in July, with strong year-over-year gains in single- and multifamily building, a range of results for private non-residential categories, and deepening downturns in most public segments,鈥� said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. 鈥淭hese trends are likely to hold for the remainder of 2013.鈥�
The amount of construction put in place in July was US$901bn, was the highest mark since June 2009, an increase of 0.6% from the month before and 5.2% from July 2012. Totals for May and June were revised up, implying a stronger second quarter for the overall economy than the government had earlier reported.
鈥淩ecent reports suggest the full year will continue to bring mixed news for construction,鈥� Simonson said. 鈥淢ulti-family construction will keep expanding and single-family homebuilding should do well in most regions. Private non-residential spending will be very uneven and public construction spending remains threatened.鈥�
Association officials urged policy makers in Washington to enact federal spending bills by 30 September in order to avoid costly interruptions to federally funded construction projects. They said even a short lapse in appropriations could be very disruptive to construction schedules for infrastructure and building projects. 鈥淐ongress and the administration shouldn鈥檛 play chicken with vitally needed infrastructure,鈥� said Stephen Sandherr, the association鈥檚 chief executive officer. 鈥淪hutting down a project, even for a day, can be very damaging to finishing it on time and keeping key workers on board.鈥�
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