“Public safety-related spending declined sharply in December, which may reflect sharp cuts in state and local government spending. In other words, the outlook for publicly financed construction is dimming and the December data fit neatly with that outlook.”
— Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu, following a construction spending report by the U.S. Census Bureau this week showing privately and publicly financed construction dipped 1.6 percent in the month of December.
