Construction Spending Drops in July

The US Census Bureau reported today that construction spending dropped 1.2% in July from the June reading. However, spending was still 5.1% above last July so things aren't exactly falling apart. As we have stated many times, we believe construction spending will fall but with commerical building activity picking up, we don't think it will be a major drag on the economy. Here's an interesting question though -- why does the Census Bureau report construction spending? I guess they need something to do when they aren't doing census stuff every ten years.