The U.S. Census Bureau announced that construction spending during December 2021 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,639.9 billion, 0.2 percent above the upward revised November estimate of $1,636.5 billion. The December figure is a substantial 9.0 percent above the December 2020 estimate of $1,504.2 billion. The value of construction in 2021 was $1,589.0 billion, 8.2 percent above the $1,469.2 billion spent in 2020 (which is somewhat tempered by a 7.0 inflation level for the year). The overall numbers, particularly the private sector increase in “residential” masked the poor performance of nonresidential spending for the year, which was actually slightly down. Meanwhile, public sector funding struggled finishing below 2020 numbers, where even highway spending saw only a slight bump from a year prior, given how late the infrastructure bill passed.   Read more.....