Steel Markets
May 3, 2017
Construction Expenditures through March 2017
Written by Peter Wright
In summary, the March CPIP data released on May 1st, yielded mixed results. Private expenditures recorded overall growth with the exception of manufacturing, transportation and religious structures. However, State & Local and Infrastructure spending continued to contract. Data in this report is not seasonally adjusted or corrected for inflation.
At SMU we analyze the CPIP data with the intent of providing a clear description of activity that we believe accounts for over 30 percent of total steel consumption. Please see the end of this report for more detail on how we perform this analysis and structure of the data but in particular note that we are presenting NONE seasonally adjusted numbers. Much of what you will see in the press may differ from our presentation because others are basing their comments on adjusted values. Our rational is that construction is highly seasonal and our businesses function in a seasonal world. Also we don’t understand how the adjustments are made neither do we trust them.
