I'm a highway star

As the old Deep Purple song from the 1970s goes, "I'm a highway star." Well, Highway spending was a shining star in May, according to the latest Census Bureau report. "Construction spending dropped in May for the second straight month but there are plenty of bright spots amidst the gloom," says Ken Simonson, Chief Economist for The Associated General Contractors of America. Simonson was commenting on a July 3 report from the Census Bureau that showed the value of construction put in place fell at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.4 percent in May, following a dip of 0.2 percent in April. "Private residential construction dropped 0.8 percent and private nonresidential spending fell 0.3 percent for the month, more than offsetting a rise of 0.7 percent in public construction," Simonson observed."But nonresidential construction remained much stronger than a year ago. Private nonresidential construction was down slightly from April to May but up 13 percent compared to May 2005. Every category was in the plus column year-to-date. " Highway and street rose 0.1 percent for the month. Year-to-date highway spending was up 15 percent, boosted by exceptionally mild weather in the winter and early spring of 2006 and by steep increases in asphalt, diesel fuel, and concrete prices. Your comment?