| WEX Releases Monthly Construction Fuel Consumption Index (FCI) Results |
U.S. Construction Industry Fueling Increased 5.8% Year-Over-Year in January; Up 0.4% versus Previous Month
The WEX Construction FCI measures national fuel consumption statistics
for the construction industry, which provides an accurate and up-to-date
indication of construction activity in WEX worked with IHS to capture and analyze transaction data from its closed loop network which includes over 90 percent of the domestic retail fuel locations. With this data, the WEX Construction FCI can be used to identify emerging trends within the construction industry and the national economy.
The indicators were tested at monthly, quarterly and annual frequencies,
with the greatest insights produced using the year-over-year percent
change of the monthly data. For
The WEX Construction FCI, which is available monthly in advance of the
Last month’s WEX Construction FCI reflected the nearly flat growth
indicated by the seasonally-adjusted index in most of the government’s
subsequent construction data releases. Construction spending excluding
improvements – a good measure of activity – decreased by 0.6% in
December; however, private residential construction rose by 1.6%.
December housing permit statistics were mixed, with total permits
increasing by 0.3%. Housing starts jumped 12.1% in December, to an
annual rate of 954,000 ― the highest since IHS Analysis
According to the IHS analysis, despite the month-to-month mild growth in
January for the WEX Construction FCI, the U.S. housing market has shown
signs of growth; however, new home sales fell by 7.3% in December to an
annual rate of 369,000 units. Existing home sales slipped by 1% in
December and inventories fell to 1.82 million units, which is the lowest
since Inventories are lean and dropping because builders are not building enough homes, which is why home prices are rising in most markets today. In turn, higher home prices are bringing more builders into the market. The housing market is expected to continue to improve and outperform the rest of the economy over the next few quarters due to the low level of housing inventory and low interest rates.
The WEX Construction FCI for
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