Australia Building Capital Expenditure

Private new capital expenditure on buildings and structures in Australia increased by 1.1% quarter-on-quarter in Q3 of 2024, ending two straight quarters of decline with a revised 3.3% drop in Q2 and a 0.9% fall in Q1. On an industry basis, capital expenditure on buildings and structures rose the most for manufacturing (27.2%), wholesale trade (17%), administrative & support services (16.7%), arts & recreation (9.5%) and information media & telecommunications (9.4%). Robert Ewing, ABS head of business statistics, said: “The rise in buildings and structures was caused by higher spending on large scale upgrades in the manufacturing industry, and data centre projects in the information, media and telecommunications industry. This was partly offset by a fall in mining industry spending on buildings and structures, which was down 2.5 per cent after rising last quarter.”.

Private new capital expenditure on buildings and structures in Australia declined by 3.8% quarter-on-quarter in Q2 of 2024, accelerating from a 0.9% fall in Q1 and pointing to the sharpest drop in four years. Robert Ewing, ABS head of business statistics, said: “The drop in buildings and structures was caused by lower spending on major engineering projects and transport infrastructure projects and was partly offset by a rise in mining industry spending on buildings and structures, which was up 2.8 per cent after falling last quarter.“ On an industry basis, capital expenditure on buildings and structures fell the most for manufacturing (-29.4%), arts & recreation services (-27.5%), transport, postal & warehousing (-18.2%), information media % telecommunications (-14%) and financial & insurance services (-13.5%).

Private new capital expenditure on buildings and structures in Australia declined by 0.9% quarter-on-quarter in Q1 of 2024, shifting from a downwardly revised 1.3% growth in the prior period while pointing to the first drop since Q2 of 2022. Among sectors, business spending fell the most for administrative and support services (-30.9%), followed by rental, hiring (-20.6%), wholesale trade (-20.6%), retail trade (-17.5%), professional, scientific and tech services (-3.2), and construction (-2.5%). By contrast, capital expenditure grew for manufacturing (24.8%), utilities (3.8%), accommodation and food (35.2%), transport, warehousing (2.4%), information & communications (20.7%), education (24.1%), financial and insurance services (61.3%), arts (66.9%), and other services (67.9%). On a yearly basis, private capital spending on buildings and structures grew by 4.7% in Q1, much softer than a 9.4% jump in Q4.