Construction moves forward

August was a good month for construction. U.S. construction spending edged up 0.4% in August to a record high as both public and private outlays rose, a Commerce Department report showed. Construction spending came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.109 trillion in August, versus July's annual rate of $1.104 trillion. July's level was revised up from a previously reported $1.099 trillion, the government reported. At a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $667.6 billion, new construction starts in August increased 2% compared to the previous month, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies. The upward push came from nonresidential building, which continued to strengthen after its weak volume earlier in the year. The construction industry's other two major sectors, residential building and nonbuilding construction, were essentially unchanged in August. Nonbuilding construction for August was reported at $104.9 billion (annual rate), basically steady with July. Of the public works categories, water supply construction surged 80%, boosted by the start of two large projects in California - a $198 million aqueduct pipeline in the San Diego area and a $185 million water treatment plant retrofit in Riverside-San Bernardino. River/harbor development work grew 24% in August, helped by the start of a $54 million project to reconstruct bulkheads on the East River in New York City. Growth was also shown for highways and bridges, up 13% in August. Large transportation-related projects reaching the start stage included a $116 million highway reconstruction in Florida and a $108 million bridge replacement in West Virginia. Your comment?