About this Data

Construction Spending data reports on the sum of the value of work done on all construction projects underway during the period, regardless of when work on each individual project was started or when payment was made to the contractors. For some categories, published estimates represent payments made during a period rather than the value of work actually done during that period. For other categories, estimates are derived by distributing the total construction cost of the project by means of historic construction progress patterns.

The “value of construction put in place” is a measure of the value of construction installed or erected at
the site during a given period. For an individual project, this includes—

1. Cost of materials installed or erected.
2. Cost of labor (both by contractors and force account) and a proportionate share of the cost of construction equipment rental.
3. Contractor’s profit.
4. Cost of architectural and engineering work.
5. Miscellaneous overhead and office costs chargeable to the project on the owner’s books.
6. Interest and taxes paid during construction (except for state and locally owned projects).

Projects are classified as privately owned or government owned (state, local, or federal government). The distinction is made on the basis of ownership during the construction period.

Construction Spending includes the following:

1. New buildings and structures.
2. Additions, alterations, conversions, expansions, reconstruction, renovations, rehabilitations, and major replacements (such as the complete replacement of a roof or heating system).
3. Mechanical and electrical installations such as plumbing, heating, electrical work, elevators, escalators, central air-conditioning, and other similar building services.
4. Site preparation and outside construction of fixed structures or facilities such as sidewalks, highways and streets, parking lots, utility connections, outdoor lighting, railroad tracks, airfields, piers, wharves and docks, telephone lines, radio and television towers, water supply lines, sewers, water and signal towers, electric light and power distribution and transmission lines, petroleum and gas pipelines, and similar facilities that are built into or fixed to the land.
5. Installation of the following types of equipment: boilers, overhead hoists and cranes, and blast furnaces.
6. Fixed, largely site-fabricated equipment not housed in a building, primarily for petroleum refineries and chemical plants, but also including storage tanks, refrigeration systems, etc.
7. Cost and installation of construction materials placed inside a building and used to support production machinery; for example, concrete platforms, overhead steel girders, and pipes to carry paint, etc. from storage tanks.

The following are excluded from construction:

1. Maintenance and repairs to existing structures or service facilities.
2. Cost and installation of production machinery and equipment items not specifically covered above, such as heavy industrial machinery, printing presses, stamping machines, bottling machines, and packaging machines; special purpose equipment designed to prepare the structure for a specific use, such as steam tables in restaurants, pews in churches, lockers in school buildings, beds or Xray machines in hospitals, and display cases and shelving in stores.
3. Drilling of gas and oil wells, including construction of offshore drilling platforms; digging and shoring of mines (construction of buildings at mine sites is included); work that is an integral part of farming operations such as plowing and planting of crops.
4. Land acquisition.

Classification of Construction Spending on Residential Buildings

New Single Family : Includes new houses and town houses built to be sold or rented and units built by the owner or for the owner on contract. The classification excludes residential units in buildings that are
primarily nonresidential. It also excludes manufactured housing and houseboats.

New Multi-Family : Includes new apartments and condominiums. The classification excludes residential units in buildings that are primarily nonresidential.

State and local includes remodeling, additions, and major replacements to multi-family properties
subsequent to completion of original building as well as construction of additional housing units in
existing residential structures, the addition of swimming pools and garages, and replacement of
major equipment items such as water heaters, furnaces, and central air-conditioners.
Maintenance and repair work is excluded.

Improvements : Includes remodeling, additions, and major replacements to owner occupied properties
subsequent to completion of original building. It includes construction of additional housing units
in existing residential structures, finishing of basements and attics, modernization of kitchens,
bathrooms, etc. Also included are improvements outside of residential structures, such as the
addition of swimming pools and garages, and replacement of major equipment items such as
water heaters, furnaces and central air-conditioners. Maintenance and repair work is not included.

Improvements to state and locally owned multi-family units are included in the state and local
multi-family category.