Content about Department of Commerce

May 16, 2013
Housing starts plummet in April

Residential construction data released today shows the lowest figures for housing starts in five months. Permits, however, were up.

Housing starts fell back below a million. In fact, they’re well below a million.

Data released Thursday morning by the Commerce Department shows total housing starts for April at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 853,000, down 16.5% from the March figure.

Analysts expected a decline -- but not that much. Expectations were for an SAAR of about 970,000. 

Things weren’t that much better in the single-family metric, which showed April starts at a rate of 610,000, down 2.1% from the March rate.

April 16, 2013
Housing starts cross the million mark

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of new residential construction in March reached the highest level since June 2008.

Housing starts are back above 1 million.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of new residential construction surged to 1.036 million in March, according to data released Tuesday morning by the Commerce Department. That's 7.0% above last month's pace, and a whopping 46.7% ahead of the pace from March 2012, when starts were stalled at 706,000.

January 17, 2013
Creeping to a million, starts increase 12.1% in December

Housing starts in December increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 954,000.

The million-starts mark is within sight, as residential construction stands at its highest level since June 2008.

December 19, 2012
November housing starts stall at 861,000

It wasn't the blockbuster, early Christmas present that construction industry executives were secretly wishing for, but the housing starts report for November at least delivered another big increase over the year-ago figure. 

The Department of Commerce's New Residential Construction Report for November showed housing starts at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 861,000. That's 3.0% below the downwardly revised October estimate of 888,000, but 21.6% above the November 2011 rate of 708,000.

October 19, 2012
Housing report lifts mood at HIRI conference

Chicago – The Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) Fall Conference kicked off just a few minutes after the Commerce Department released data showing a 15% increase in September housing starts. 

October 15, 2012
September retail sales rose more than forecast

A report released Monday by the Commerce Department showed that retail sales in the U.S. climbed more than anticipated in September, boosted by unexpected increases in household spending.

Sales advanced 1.1% in September, on the heels on a 1.2% increase in August that was the biggest since October 2010. The median forecast of 77 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 0.8% rise in September.

October 2, 2012
Residential construction spending stalls

Construction spending during August 2012 fell slightly compared with July, according to the Department of Commerce, which estimated a 0.6% dip in a seasonally adjusted annual rate. The August figure is 6.5% above the August 2011 estimate.

During the first eight months of this year, construction spending rose 9.0% higher than the same period in 2011.

August 16, 2012
July housing starts drop 1.1%

Housing starts fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 746,000 in July, down 1.1% from the revised June estimate of 754,000, according to the Residential Construction report from the Commerce Department. This is 21.5% above the July 2011 rate of 614,000. 

August 14, 2012
With sales uptick, RILA sees return to stores in general

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) weighed in the Commerce Department’s monthly sales figures, which showed a return to positive numbers.

Monthly retail sales figures for July totaled $403.9 billion, an increase of 0.8% over the previous month, and 4.1% over July 2011.

May 16, 2012
Housing starts improve in April

Housing starts increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 717,000 in April, up 2.6% from the upwardly revised March figure, and up almost 30% from April 2011.

The April Residential Construction from the Commerce Department report showed surprisingly strong housing starts combined with a decline in housing permits -- just the opposite of the March 2012 report. In April, building permits declined 7.0% to a rate of 715,000, after hitting a three-year high in March.

April 25, 2012
Whirlpool loses anti-dumping case

In a victory for foreign-based manufacturers, the U.S. International Trade Commission has ruled that LG Electronics and its affiliates were not guilty of “dumping” certain refrigerator models on the U.S. market. The 5-0 vote ended a year-old investigation initiated by Whirlpool, which claimed that bottom-mount refrigerators made in Mexico and Korea were sold in the United States at below market value.

April 17, 2012
March housing starts decline, but permits rise

Residential construction data from the Commerce Department released Tuesday morning shows housing starts declined 5.8% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 654,000. But building permits were the strongest since September 2008.

Single-family housing starts held steady at 462,000, compared with 463,000 in February.

March 20, 2012
February housing starts slip 1.1%

Commerce Department data released Tuesday morning show February housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 698,000.

There’s good news and bad news in Tuesday’s data.

February starts declined 1.1% compared with the upwardly revised January figure. And single-family starts declined 9.9% to a rate of 457,000. The total-starts figure fell below expectations, as analysts expected about 710,000. 

February 16, 2012
Housing starts show signs of life

Residential construction in January was healthier than expected.

Housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 699,000, up 1.5% from 689,000 in December, according to data released Thursday morning by the Department of Commerce. But more encouraging: The January rate is up 9.9% from the same month a year ago.

Most analysts were looking for a figure anywhere from 645,000 to 671,000 for the month of January.

January 19, 2012
Single-family housing starts increase in December

According to the Commerce Department's tally, December's total housing starts were down from November, but single-family starts were at the highest rate in 21 months.

December housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 657,000, down 4.1% from the November pace of 685,000. But compared with last year, total starts are up 24.9%.

January 3, 2012
Construction spending rises in November

Construction spending during November 2011 rose 1.2% over the previous month, according to an estimate released by the Department of Commerce, which posted a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $807.1 billion. The increase was the third in four months and followed a revised 0.2% drop in October.

The November figure is slightly higher (0.5%) than November 2010’s construction spending estimate of $803.0 billion.

December 20, 2011
Commerce Department unveils stronger-than-expected starts data

Analysts were expecting a boost in November's residential construction data, but not this much of a boost.

The Commerce Department's residential construction report released Tuesday morning showed housing starts at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,000 -- that's 9.3% higher than the revised October estimate of 627,000 (revised from a previously released figure of 628,000). It's also the highest level of starts since April 2010. 

Compared with last year's near-record low, total housing starts were up 24.3%.

November 17, 2011
October housing starts slip to a 628,000 rate

Close followers of the Commerce Department's monthly residential construction data have been wondering all month if September's strong showing in housing starts could sustain itself.

The answer was delivered this morning by the latest data, sort of. Housing starts officially slipped 0.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 628,000. 

October 26, 2011
NRF concerned over plans to expand Internet domain names

The National Retail Federation announced that it has asked the Commerce Department to delay implementation of a controversial plan to vastly expand Internet domain names, saying retailers and other businesses need more information before moving forward.

October 19, 2011
At HIRI summit, the focus is on numbers and growth

Chicago -- The unofficial quote of the day came from J. Walker Smith, executive chairman of The Futures Co.: "Screw the economy; you can still be successful in your business."

October 19, 2011
NAHB weighs in on housing-starts jump

Responding to the Commerce Department's September housing starts data -- up 15% from August -- the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said tight lending conditions continue to depress the market. 

Nationwide housing starts rose 15% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 658,000 units in September, the strongest pace of residential construction since April 2010.

October 17, 2011
September retail sales jump 1.1%, beating forecasts

U.S. retail sales in September grew at their fastest pace in six months, beating forecasts and rising 1.1%, the Commerce Department reported. Excluding the auto sector, sales rose 0.6%, also better than expected. The increase gave retailers renewed hope for the upcoming holiday season. 

The Commerce Department also reported that sales for August, which were originally reported as unchanged, were revised up to a 0.3% increase.

August 16, 2011
Housing starts in July slip 1.5%

Compared with June's housing start report, there is less to cheer about in the Tuesday morning release from the Department of Commerce and U.S. Census Bureau.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts slipped to 604,000 in July. But that's still up 9.8% from the July 2010 rate of 550,000. Another possible positive indicator: June and July marked the first two-month stretch of a pace higher than 600,000 since March and April of 2010.

August 8, 2011
Consumer spending down in June

Consumer spending for June dropped 0.2% to $21.9 billion, the Commerce Department announced Tuesday. 

The drop in consumer spending marked the first decline seen since September 2009.

Meanwhile, personal income was virtually flat, increasing 0.1% to $18.7 billion for the month, which was in line with estimates.

July 19, 2011
Housing starts for June show improvement

Monthly housing starts for June rose above the 600,000 mark for the first time since January, according to data released today by the Commerce Department.

Housing starts increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 629,000 in June, up 14.6% from the revised May estimate of 549,000. Single-family starts also showed a big improvement -- up 9.4% to a rate of 453,000.

The 629,000 annual rate came in much higher than anticipated by most forecasts, which had called for a rate of about 570,000.