Construction Newsletter--The DATA DIGest, April 29-May 5
April payroll employment falls overall but rises for construction; value put in place slips in March.
The national average on-highway diesel fuel price fell for the 8th straight week, to $1.48 today from a peak of $1.77 on March 10, the Energy Information Administration reported this afternoon. The national average gasoline price also continued its sharp fall, to $1.56 today from a peak of $1.77 on March 17.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported today that the ISM non-manufacturing business activity index rose in April to 50.7, indicating expansion, after dipping to 47.9 in March. Construction was listed among the industries reporting: faster supplier deliveries than before, highest rates of inventory decrease, but also highest rates of feeling inventories were too high, growth in backlog of orders, and increased use of imports.