COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION SANK AGAIN IN MAY

Spending on commercial construction slipped 1.1 percent during May, while spending on residential construction gained 0.2 percent, the Associated General Contractors of America (AGCA) reported.
Construction for the power industry, which is the largest category in private nonresidential construction, retreated 1.6 percent for the month, the AGCA said; retail, warehouse, and farm building was off 0.7 percent. 
Manufacturing construction dipped 2.7 percent. Office construction was flat.
Year over year in June, spending for power construction shrank 1.2 percent; retail, warehouse, and farm construction was down 2.6 percent; manufacturing lost 3.2 percent; and office building dropped 8.3 percent. 
“Many construction firms would likely be busier if only they could find materials for their projects and workers for their teams,” AGCA CEO Stephen Sandherr said in a statement announcing June’s figures.
He called for an end to tariffs on imported construction materials and to federal unemployment payments, which he referred to as “a program paying people not to work.”
TREND FORECAST: We maintain our forecast that the commercial construction sector will continue to decline as more people commute less and work at home more.