Value of Private Construction Put in Place, monthly

Units and definitions

Value of construction put in place: 'a measure of the value of construction installed or erected at the site during a given period' (Census definitions page). Includes new buildings and structures, additions, alterations, renovations and major replacements. Excludes land acquisition, 'cost and installation of production machinery and equipment items not specifically covered', and maintenance and repairs. Manufacturing 'includes all buildings and structures at manufacturing sites'; manufacturers' offices and warehouses away from manufacturing sites are classified as office and commercial. Private = privately owned during construction. Millions of current dollars, not adjusted for price changes. basis 'saar' = monthly value at a seasonally adjusted annual rate; basis 'nsa' = monthly value, not seasonally adjusted (twelve months sum to the annual total).

Limitations

• Estimates come from a sample survey (Construction Progress Reporting Survey); projects are sampled from lists compiled by Dodge Data & Analytics, valued at $75,000 or more.
• Private nonresidential estimates are raised by 25 percent for projects missing from the sampling frame (Census methodology document).
• Excludes production machinery and equipment, so it understates total capital spending on new plants.
• Details may not add to totals because not all types of construction are shown separately.
• The latest month is preliminary and the two before it are revised in each release; annual revisions can change earlier years.
• Only seven of sixteen manufacturing subsectors are published in this file.