Independent newsroom

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

The File

Every claim traces to a primary source. Uncertainty is labeled. Corrections are public.

Economy · Wednesday, September 2, 2026

Census: July construction spending $2,157.6 billion SAAR, 0.5% below revised June

The File desk · Sep 2, 2026, 1:50 PM UTC

Status

Confirmed from Census release CB26-140 (Monthly Construction Spending, July 2026). Census does not call the total month-to-month change statistically significant.

Census CB26-140, Sept. 1, 2026, 10:00 a.m. EDT. Total value put in place $2,157.6 billion SAAR, 0.5 percent (±0.8 percent)* below revised June $2,167.7 billion, and 3.8 percent (±1.5 percent) below July 2025. The month-to-month total change’s 90% interval includes zero — Census does not call it statistically significant. Private construction $1,614.2 billion, −0.5% (±0.3%) from June (interval excludes zero). Private residential $859.0 billion, −1.3% (±1.3%)*. Private nonresidential $755.2 billion, +0.4% (±0.3%). Public $543.4 billion, −0.2% (±1.6%)*. Next print Oct. 1 (August data).

Census wrote: “Construction spending during July 2026 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,157.6 billion, 0.5 percent (±0.8 percent)* below the revised June estimate of $2,167.7 billion.” The July figure is 3.8 percent (±1.5 percent) below the July 2025 estimate of $2,242.6 billion. Release Number CB26-140; for release at 10:00 a.m. EDT, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026.

The asterisk on the 0.5 percent month-to-month total change means the 90 percent confidence interval includes zero. This file does not call that total drop statistically significant.

Private construction was $1,614.2 billion SAAR, 0.5 percent (±0.3 percent) below revised June $1,622.9 billion. Residential construction $859.0 billion, 1.3 percent (±1.3 percent)* below revised June $870.6 billion. Nonresidential construction $755.2 billion, 0.4 percent (±0.3 percent) above revised June $752.4 billion. Public construction $543.4 billion, 0.2 percent (±1.6 percent)* below revised June $544.7 billion. Next release: Oct. 1, 2026.

What is still unknown or disputed

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    Monthly Construction Spending, July 2026 (CB26-140)

    U.S. Census Bureau · September 1, 2026

    Construction spending during July 2026 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,157.6 billion, 0.5 percent (±0.8 percent)* below the revised June estimate of $2,167.7 billion. Private construction $1,614.2 billion, 0.5 percent (±0.3 percent) below June. Residential $859.0 billion, 1.3 percent (±1.3 percent)* below June. Nonresidential $755.2 billion, 0.4 percent (±0.3 percent) above June. Public $543.4 billion, 0.2 percent (±1.6 percent)* below June. Next release: October 1, 2026.

    https://www.census.gov/construction/c30/pdf/release.pdf