Private US businesses are not building new facilities, or renovating old ones, at a rate that suggests the economy is doing well. Let alone booming. For more than two years now, the aggregate level of Private Non-residential Construction Spending has been flat.
According to the Census Bureau in figures released today, construction capex in July 2018 (seasonally adjusted) was less than 2% above what took place in July 2016. Compared to November 2016, there was less spending in the latest month than during the height of Reflation #3.
