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    Analysis

    February 10, 2021

    CPIP Data: Residential Construction Leads the Way in January

    Written by David Schollaert

    Total construction expenditures rose further in January to about $1.52 trillion, up 1.7% from December’s revised estimate of $1.50 trillion, reported the U.S. Census Bureau. The year-on-year comparison is rather remarkable, as the January figure is 5.8% above the year-ago, pre-pandemic estimate of $1.44 trillion. Although the economy is still in recovery mode, the construction sector continues to be a bright spot and has withstood the “COVID storm” other sectors have succumbed to this past year. Construction accounts for about 45% of total U.S. steel consumption. 

    See the end of this report for more background on the Construction Put In Place (CPIP) data used in this analysis.The CPIP that is the focus of this report is based on spending work as it proceeds; the value of a project is spread out from the project’s start to its completion. The Census Bureau reports separately on construction starts in which data for the whole project is entered into the database when ground is broken.

    David Schollaert

    David Schollaert is deputy editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. He can be contacted at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

    Read more from David Schollaert

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