by Calculated Risk on 4/26/2013 11:40:00 AM

Final demand increased in Q1 as personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased at a 3.2% annual rate (up from 1.8% in Q4 2012), and residential investment (RI) increased at a 12.6% annual rate (down  from 17.6% in Q4).  This was the strongest private domestic contribution (PCE and RI) since Q4 2010, and the 2nd strongest quarter since the recession began.

Unfortunately PCE will probably slow over the next couple of quarters as the sequester budget cuts ripple through the economy. 

The negative contributions came from less Federal Government spending (subtracted 0.65 percentage points), less state and local governments spending (subtracted 0.14 percentage points) and from trade (subtracted 0.50 percentage points).

Overall this was a medicore report and below expectations (mostly due to government spending and trade).  The increase in PCE and RI were positives, but the ongoing government budget cuts continue to slow the economy. 

The following graph shows the contribution to GDP from residential investment, equipment and software, and nonresidential structures (3 quarter centered average). This is important to follow because residential investment tends to lead the economy, equipment and software is generally coincident, and nonresidential structure investment trails the economy.

For the following graph, red is residential, green is equipment and software, and blue is investment in non-residential structures. So the usual pattern - both into and out of recessions is - red, green, blue.

The dashed gray line is the contribution from the change in private inventories.

Click on graph for larger image.

Residential Investment (RI) made a positive contribution to GDP in Q1 for the eight consecutive quarter. Usually residential investment leads the economy, but that didn't happen this time because of the huge overhang of existing inventory, but now RI is contributing.

Equipment and software investment was positve in Q1, however the contribution from nonresidential investment in structures was slightly negative (the three month centered average was still positive). Nonresidential investment in structures typically lags the recovery, however investment in energy and power has masked the ongoing weakness in office, mall and hotel investment (the underlying details will be released next week).

The second graph shows the contribution to percent change in GDP for residential investment and state and local governments since 2005.

The blue bars are for residential investment (RI), and RI was a significant drag on GDP for several years. Now RI has added to GDP growth for the last 8 quarters (through Q1 2013).

However the drag from state and local governments is ongoing.   I was expecting the drag from state and local governments to end, but this unprecedented and relentless decline in state and local government spending is still a drag on the economy. The good news is the drag has to end soon - in real terms, state and local government spending is back to early 2001 levels.

Residential Investment as a percent of GDP is up from the record lows during the housing bust. Usually RI bounces back quickly following a recession, but this time there is a wide bottom because of the excess supply of existing vacant housing units.   Clearly RI has bottomed, but it still below the levels of previous recessions.

I'll break down Residential Investment (RI) into components after the GDP details are released this coming week. Note: Residential investment (RI) includes new single family structures, multifamily structures, home improvement, broker's commissions, and a few minor categories.

The last graph shows non-residential investment in structures and equipment and software.

I'll add details for investment in offices, malls and hotels next week.

The key story is that residential investment is continuing to increase, and I expect this to continue. Since RI is the best leading indicator for the economy, this suggests no recession this year or in 2014 (with the usual caveats about Europe and policy errors in the US).