Commercial building on decline

Commercial building is feeling the pain of home construction: January was the second month in a row in which spending on non-residential structures decreased, according to a report issued by the Department of Commerce. Construction spending on non-residential structures such as office buildings, shopping centers and hospitals fell 0.8% in January to $658.6 million from the $663.6 million reported in December. Spending is down 12.4% from the year-ago period, the Commerce Department reported said. Residential construction spending also continued to struggle in January dipping 1.7% to $1.1 billion after declining in December. The Department of Commerce will release construction spending data for February on April 10.