In this section, Informed Infrastructure compiles infographics from trusted sources that reveal insight on infrastructure spending. We also compile some of the top infrastructure stories that shouldn’t be missed. For ongoing news coverage, turn to Informed Infrastructure online (www.informedinfrastructure.com), our Twitter feed (@IInfrastructure) and our weekly e-newsletter.

FHWA Delivers First-Ever Highway Freight Report to Congress

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) released its first “Highway Freight Conditions and Performance Report” to Congress on July 6, 2018; a report mandated by the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act of 2015.

Based on 2015 data, the report tapped into FHWA’s Freight Performance Measurement program to analyze the impacts of congestion, and determine the operational capacity and efficiency of key freight routes throughout the United States.

According to the agency, the National Highway System is handling a record amount of freight, with trucks moving nearly 60 percent of the nation’s total freight volume and close to 70 percent of total yearly freight value.

Read the full report at https://bit.ly/2zYFo6o.

Construction Spending Increased

In July 2018, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that spending on U.S. construction projects edged up 0.4 percent in May 2018, while April’s figure was revised down significantly from a 1.8 percent gain to a 0.9 percent gain. The April revision came on the heels of 0.9 percent drop in March, the first monthly drop since July 2017.

Total private construction rose 0.3 percent, with residential projects up 0.8 percent in May. New single-family home construction rose 0.6 percent, and the apartment-building sector jumped 1.6 percent. Private, non-residential building fell 0.3 percent.

Even as government budgets have tightened, construction of public projects in May rose 0.7 percent to $304.1 billion, the highest since October 2010. That gain was fueled by a 0.6 percent rise in state and local construction, which accounts for more than 90 percent of total government activity. State and local government construction spending was $282.1 billion, the most since September 2009.

Spending on the power grid increased nearly 11 percent on a monthly basis, and is up more than 25 percent over a year ago.