IHS Global forecasts flat construction spending next year

IHS Global, a firm specializing in economic and financial information, predicts that construction spending in 2011 will be flat, according to its Fourth Quarter U.S. Construction Briefing. Although overall spending fell 8.3 percent in 2010, the report predicts that gains in the residential and commercial sectors will help it increase.

IHS forecasts that residential construction spending will grow 0.4 percent next year, and become steady as the housing market stabilizes over the next several years. It also noted that spending in the commercial sector also will improve, but that spending on infrastructure will continue to drop.